The Uzumakis and the Haunted Mansion
by JeffC FTW
Summary: Naruto and Hinata Uzumaki travel to an old American mansion with their children on real estate business, where the owner intends to sell the property. An unexpected storm keeps them for the night, but there is more than meets the eye in store.
1. Real Estate and Family Adventures

**Halloween month, and I bring you a treat by mixing this with "The Haunted Mansion" (the fantastic Disney comedy fantasy starring Eddie Murphy) - and this time with the Uzumaki family in place of the lead character and his family. :D Naruto and his wife and kids travel to America where they discover the mansion they wish to sell is HAUNTED, and that's when the fun and trouble begins. That movie is so funny that I saw some connections to the family as well as who may replace the so-called main antagonist...**

 **This story contains frightening images, suggestive elements and the likes, but nothing to deserve a mature rating.**

 **Disclaimer: neither Naruto or The Haunted Mansion belong to me.**

Chapter One

Real Estate and Family Adventures

"It's love, isn't it? Sometimes, you just take one look around in the house you walk in...and you know it's the one. Just like love at first sight," Naruto Uzumaki said to his latest customers, being the sixth in a line this month. He had been on such a roll that it wasn't even funny, and he was super proud if he said so himself.

This house within Konoha was one of the newest in the Byakugan Real Estate owned for generations by the Hyuuga family, and now it was run by him and his wife who was a member of that same big family which had been one of many as a ninja clan in the olden days. Every family in Konoha had ancient history connected to each other one way or another, but that was another story entirely. Naruto Uzumaki was one of the lesser known, but his mother's side as well as his father's were always known to work their asses off to the top. There were others in his hometown who had done the same, in their own way as to not mimic others - not too much, anyway.

His wife, Hinata, was the firstborn daughter but kind and gentle. Her late father, Hiashi, had considered putting her cousin Neji in her place, but Naruto showed that old man wrong by marrying his daughter and also proving his worth to the real estate. His parents had died the day he was born, so he was an orphan taken into the prestigious Hyuugas. Hiashi was a strict man and expected nothing but the best, so there had been times he frowned at young Naruto's hyperactive antics which rivaled Neji, his nephew. But the secondary Hyuuga turned out to be a good friend, somehow. The guy was aloof, like his best friend Sasuke Uchiha, and a genius. He was Naruto's partner and equal.

Back to the present. He was selling this newly modeled, vast structure with the spiraling staircase to Karin, his cousin on his mother's side, and her husband Suigetsu Hozuki, a toothy librarian originally from Kiri. She'd gone on a nursing scholarship because their hospital needed more hands, but sometimes Naruto wondered what she saw in the annoying guy. "I love it," she said with a romantic sigh as she looked around at the bright white, the fantastic wood beams and the space enough for them to start a family of their own.

But Suigetsu wasn't sold. "There aren't enough plugs," he grumbled. He was picky and choosy, and he wanted a place to put up his sword collection as well as to set up his study.

"You know, Suigetsu, that other place we looked at was positively loaded with plugs," Naruto said, remembering the other property down the street which had what his client and cousin-in-law wanted, though it had too high steps, Suigetsu pointed out, which was internally pushing not only Naruto's limits, but also Karin's.

"Suigetsu, you idiot, every house we look at since you agreed to move here with me, you find something to pick on."

"I just know what I like, Karin," he returned.

She raised her hand so to announce. "Would you like a divorce then? I'll be happy to bring it." _Now, that would be a good idea, but what the hell, cousin? Divorcing over a little issue like finding the perfect dream home? Not on my watch._

Naruto clapped his hands. "Hey, hey, you guys, no need for that. I'm going to find you your dream home, and I'm totally committed. As our saying goes: 'we see in three hundred and sixty degrees, and always know to lead you the right way to your ideal home!' And we don't care how long it takes." He gave them his signature grin which beamed brighter than the sun. The mentioned motto had been created because the Hyuuga eye was said to be much sharper than the average human being, and the Uchihas came in second; Sasuke's family oversaw the police department. And as said, no matter how long it took, the results were flawless.

His cell phone rang. "Excuse me," he said to the couple, "I got to take this." It was none other than his loving wife of sixteen years. He stepped away by a few feet and lowered his voice a bit. "Hello, Byakugan Real Estate. Naruto Uzumaki."

 _"How is it, honey?"_ she asked happily. _"Do they like the house?"_

He looked nervously at his cousin and her husband when he nervously answered. "Uh...the house is still available," he said, masquerading the call as another buyer looking for the home. Both Karin and Suigetsu looked stunned before turning onto each other. His redheaded cousin's temper ran in the female side of the family.

Hinata sighed. _"I knew it. It's like your cousin and that tooth-faced hubby of hers to be lookie." More like Suigetsu more than Karin. She already knows what she wants while he's very picky. "Naruto-kun, I'm already on my way home to get ready for dinner. Reservations are at seven PM."_

It was only five, so time was getting short. After these two, he had one more house to sell. It was none other than Ino and Sai Yamanaka, the former being Sakura's best friend. And Sakura Haruno was his other most best friend, head doctor at the hospital and married to Sasuke with a beautiful daughter who was the same age as his son; she was also Boruto's best friend. "Seven is perfect," he answered, "so we'll get together and go over your offer then." This trick always worked when couples who couldn't agree on a house were forced when all other options failed. But nobody needed to know that; it was Naruto Uzumaki's secret technique. He smirked, back turned, when he heard Karin whack her husband on the shoulder and hissed at what he'd done. But it wouldn't be long before they would agree to take this house. Poor Suigetsu would end up compromising just to make his wife happy.

 _"Seven sharp and do NOT be late."_ He cringed to himself. Hinata could be sweet and loving, but she could also be hard as steel. He just hoped he could get there on time once he was done filling the final paperwork with these two and then Sai and Ino, since they wanted a better home for themselves and their son...

~o~

Sixteen years - just how time goes by, huh?

Hinata Uzumaki turned herself at every angle to examine herself one more time in the dress which graced her every curve. It was royal blue, long-sleeved and had a plunging neckline. She had long ago cut her hair to reach her ears, but it was short enough to show off the earrings she first wore on her wedding day to the man she was waiting for. They were crystal drops on encrusted leaves. And finally, the necklace she always wore which was shaped like a leaf and shimmering abalone, which was a jewel of the sea. It had been her mother's before she died.

The kids were in their rooms, and Boruto would be stuck watching his sister tonight. The boy was fifteen and going through a phase, kind of like his father, but Naruto wasn't as bad as going far to say that his father was never around. Her husband never knew his parents, so their son should be grateful he HAD a dad in his life. Hinata didn't hate her own child for that, but it broke her heart the way this did.

And sometimes, deep down - even if she knew that her family's business was important to so many people in Konoha - she wished Naruto was home around his family more often. Tonight was their anniversary, and if he was late and missed reservations made at Shūnen, the retreat for every couple, then she would put her foot down.

She smiled at the ring around her finger - the golden band set with a brilliantly cut tanzanite sided with small whites in clusters - and remembered the day he proposed to her at Ichiraku's of all places, which was their favorite place anytime. It was just a month after her father died. Hiashi loved Naruto like his own son, but he'd passed away from cancer of the heart and therefore never got to walk her to her man. Neji did that, and her sister Hanabi was her maid of honor.

The day had taken place on Konoha Beach, with everyone they knew from childhood watching. It wasn't grand in budget, but the emotions present were more important. Hinata would never change a thing; what made it better was that it was a double affair. Sasuke and Sakura shared their wedding day with her and Naruto.

Hinata wiped the tear that streaked down her cheek as she picked up the photograph on the bedside table. Here she was in the sleeveless dress which was nearly sheer - but covered her assets well - and reached her knees. The bold lace was a damask pattern. Sakura's gown touched the sand, blushing darkly and covered all over with three-dimensional blossoms; sparkling at her neck was a shimmering crystal collar. Both their husbands were in white collared shirts and khaki shorts reaching their knees, and all barefoot in the sand. It had been right after they graduated college.

However, Naruto may have gotten too much into her family's business to prove himself capable that he'd let it spill into his personal life. She'd put up with it for the longest time.

"Mom!" Boruto stood there in the doorway, whistling at the sight of her. "Dad is going to fall head over his heels _literally_ when he sees you." Hinata laughed shyly at her son's comment, but then she saw the time: _six-fifty PM._

 _Naruto is going to be late._

With a sharp sigh, she shook her head and left the bedroom to wait downstairs in the living room. Himawari was in her room doing whatever she did best. Why was Hinata not surprised that her husband had missed something fun, important and meaningful - AGAIN? Boruto noticed this and pointed out the obvious. "Old man leaving you hanging just like he did to all of us."

"Boruto," she said sharply, gracefully sitting down on the sofa to watch television for awhile, "that's your father you are still talking about. He's late, but he'll be here." At the same time, the doorbell rang. There could be only one person...

Greeting her at the door was the silhouette of her husband, but he held in front of her a cute little stuffed brown bear tied with a white ribbon in the front, cradling a bouquet of spectacular lavender roses and baby's breath. "Hi, Hinata," he spoke behind the fluffy creature, "my name's Tedībea. Your husband said to tell you he loves you very much but sometimes loses track of the time." On par, Naruto's face popped out from behind and awkwardly grinned. "I'm sorry I'm late. Happy anniversary. Wow, sixteen years, huh?"

"Yes, happy anniversary," Hinata answered, trying to conceal her disappointment in him once again. For the time being, he didn't notice. Then he looked down and gasped at whatever was there - and wrapped around Teddy's left wrist was a watch with a band of white leather and a face of rose-gold sparkling with crystals.

"Hina-koi, look at what he brought you! Isn't it pretty?" He was still gushing when he fastened it around her wrist. It truly was simple and stunning, and tastefully slender rather than big and bulky. "You know you have a wonderful husband who thinks of you like this on your anniversary." He leaned in and kissed her before turning to close and lock the door behind him.

She didn't want to ruin the good mood. So many years of happiness, but right now, she was tired of dealing with this. "What kept you late?" His smile was gone then and there.

"Just that I was approached after the final house sold to Ino and Sai, and this time was a new pair who moved into town." _Figures._ Clicking her tongue, Hinata turned to walk away from him. Dinner would have to be canceled, and she would have to make it here at home now. She really was looking forward to tonight, but guess not. "Oh, Hinata, come on," Naruto whined. "Don't be like this. I'm on a roll here. We sold seven houses this month."

"And what about the barbeque, three martial arts contests, and the two birthday parties that you missed out on?" Hinata challenged, whirling around and looking him HARD that it made him step back.

He was on the verge of breaking out in the cold sweat. "I...missed that much this month?"

She didn't plan to leave him over something like this, but the sooner he realized his mistakes made, the sooner they would fix this. Naruto didn't have long to do that, but just this once wouldn't change _everything._ "Okay," he said after a moment, "we're gonna take a week off starting in two days." Today was Thursday, so he was referring to Saturday.

Hinata blinked. What - what had just happened? "We're going to take a week off and head up to Suna like we did last year. The desert, the oasis and all that fun stuff - just you, me and the kids for the entire week. Maybe we can see Gaara again," he said happily. "He loves the kids."

 _At the last minute, he decides a family vacation is the best way to make up for everything he missed this month._ Suddenly, Hinata wasn't angry at him anymore. She smiled at him. It sounded like a good plan. As the closing apology, she leaned up to kiss him on the lips he happily accepted.

"Let me go tell the kids." Watching him go and keeping the flowers close to herself, the watch securely fastened around her wrist - she loved it so much that this showed how much he still loved her - but then the phone rang, making her frown. Just who could be calling their house at such an unexpected time?

~o~

He hadn't realized what a bastard he'd been, working hard and successfully but losing track of the time. It was one of the things he never grew out of in adulthood. Actually, when he was a kid, it was much worse then - but how could he do this to his loving wife who saw him for who and what he was while they were growing up?

That was why he decided, at the last minute, a week-long vacation for all of them at Gaara's desert estate in Suna was legit. He met the guy as a teenager when he was in Konoha with his siblings as part of his studies to become a diplomat for his people. Happened to be that Naruto was the one to accidentally come across him, never knowing who he was, but their friendship hit it off hard and fast.

Gaara was also his kids' godfather, whereas Sasuke and Sakura were not-blood-related aunt and uncle here at home. However, his elder sister and brother-in-law were definitely much closer to blood kin. Hanaru and Itachi Uchiha had a son named Ren in college, going for a law degree, so the couple had more time for each other. His sister married Sasuke's older brother, the head of the police department, while she ran her own art gallery. Hanaru chose a good man in Itachi, who put both his family and his town on the same plate - which made Naruto a bit envious. Those two had barely twenty years going and might as well make it to exactly twenty.

"Boruto, Himawari!" he yelled up the stairs as he ran up. "Big family adventure!"

The response he got wasn't what he should have expected. His ten-year-old daughter came screaming and running from her room. She nearly knocked him off his feet, screeching, "DADDY! THERE'S A SPIDER IN MY ROOM! IT'S ON THE WINDOW!"

He sputtered. A spider in her room - oh, here they went again. His daughter was scared of spiders. He understood she was female and easily frightened, but she was getting old enough where she had to start being braver. "Hima-chan, why don't you kill it?" he asked gently. Her blue eyes widened in disbelief.

"There's a big spider!"

Okay, he was going to see how big it was and how bad it could be - and just as he expected, it was on the window and not as bad by his standards. Why did she have to act like that was Mothra? _I'm going to show her how to properly handle killing a spider tonight._

"Himawari Uzumaki, you're making a big deal out of nothing. Come here." He held her hand and led her over to the window where the spider had been crawling but paused momentarily. "You're ten years old, and I am going to teach you the most efficient way to kill a spider." On her bedside table were some magazines which looked promising. "Doesn't matter what kind of magazine you use, but this is it." He didn't bother reading which one it was, but he rolled it up into the tightest he could. He then demonstrated by angling it in the direction to cut off his escape route - but not enough to make a crack in the glass. Once he was positive he got his point through to the ten-year-old who looked just like her mother, he gave the folded magazine to her.

But Himawari shook her head. "I don't want to whack it. I'm afraid of spiders, Dad."

Getting through a ten-year-old was hard, but not hard compared to dealing with a rebellious fifteen-year-old like her brother who was a spitting image of his father. Himawari wasn't going to spend the rest of her life letting everyone do everything for her. He didn't want her to have her worst fears used against her. When he gave her this lesson, he insisted once more she whack the spider, but she blubbered so much that the noises reached the ears of her big brother who came in, took the magazine, and crushed the arachnid dead on the windowpane. "There, happy?" Boruto asked irritably, putting the magazine back into his equally annoyed father's hand.

"No, Boruto, I am NOT happy," he called back. "I'm just trying to make a point to your sister about how important it is to whack your own spiders!"

"Whatever," the kid retorted, disappearing into his room around the corner. Naruto sighed and shook his head. What was he going to do with these kids?

He decided to take care of cleaning off the dead bug himself before giving it back to Himawari, since she wasn't scared anymore now that the thing was not going to bite her if it was taken care of, and no germs were left on her favorite magazine her mom had gotten her. He decided the kids needed no more attention, but Hinata deserved more tonight that he would gladly make up for - but he didn't expect her to be on the phone with someone.

"- got plans Friday that can't be broken," he heard her say. This puzzled him. _Is it one of our friends? A new client?_ She turned around and saw him coming, quietly telling whoever was on the phone to hold on. "Honey, it's someone calling about repping a house."

So, someone was getting a hold of them again, regarding a new house to sell. She handed him the address, but when he saw it was in _America_ , his eyes bulged. "Hinata, do you know where this place is?!" he hissed, sheer amazed. She shook her head, watching him with scrutiny. This place...it seemed like it would be a multi-million dollar mansion in the state where voodoo was practiced or something like that. This could be BIG for all of them!

"And what about our big family adventure, Naruto?"

Naruto flinched. Damn it all, what was he going to say now? He'd promised his family they would do this, but now this big opportunity in the United States came along. This could benefit all of them, but what the hell was he supposed to do now?

Hinata's face showed no expression when he gave her the answer before the evening was late.

 _ **Tedībea**_ **means "teddy bear", and** _ **Shūnen**_ **means "anniversary".**

 **Hanaru Uzumaki-Uchiha mentioned, for those who don't know, is an OC my best friend created and let me use in my works many times. She is Naruto's elder sister (in both canon and AU), and the lover and eventual wife of Itachi Uchiha himself. :)**

 **Read and review please. :D**


	2. The Mansion in the Swamp

**A handful of certain characters from "The Haunted Mansion" appear, but not all.**

Chapter Two

The Mansion in the Swamp

 _"It is an old home, Mrs. Uzumaki. My employer is anxious to move on."_

The guy she spoke to on the phone sounded like he was of British origins, or maybe he WAS British, and said the place was an old mansion in the deep Louisiana swamp, which made her frown a little and wonder how they were going to sell an old mansion like that on the market value. What was stranger: he'd asked her to come ALONE. "But my husband and I work as a team," she'd insisted, but his master didn't usually allow visitors. He even thought her face more trustworthy than Naruto's, based on seeing their flier.

Why on earth would they call the Uzumakis all the way in Japan from where they were heading now? Why wasn't it someone from their area and country?

Naruto did wonder these questions, but as always, he jumped at the first opportunity. Wasn't it funny how they both appeared successful and happy on the outside to those who went to them - but behind the closed doors was another story? _Naruto just can't miss this once in a lifetime. Oh, well, maybe next weekend could be possible. But for him to make a promise and break it like this..._

They were supposed to be there on Friday, which was absolutely disrupting the plans that had been made. Hinata tried talking them out of this by stating there were plans that could NOT be broken, but her husband couldn't contain his enthusiasm. Besides that, he saw this as a great chance to get the kids out of the country and go to the states. Very few times they left Japan for the outside for any reason, and this would be the breakthrough of the lifetime for Byakugan Real Estate if it got its foot set on American soil.

Hinata really tried to be positive about this as she dressed up that early Friday morning for them all to get to the airport. It was so last minute; thankfully, they got the tickets in time. She was in her fitted dress sweetly patterned with plum and pastel flowers, her long black cardigan and heels. The sooner this business was done, the better. Naruto wanted them to spend no more than twenty minutes before they would get the flight to Suna from there.

"Naruto," she said with a sigh when he leaned in to whiff at her jasmine and sandalwood perfume she'd just sprayed onto herself, "the sooner this is done, the quicker we can get to our family adventure."

His face fell. He saw she was disappointed in him. He said nothing and reached for his bottle of cologne as the final touch. Their bags were packed and ready to be loaded in the trunk. They packed one suitcase each because Gaara always had their rooms prepped at his estate. Plus, what would make it easier for their short day in the states?

Naruto's "good suit" was dark gray, opening to show a light blue silk shirt and a tie of dark orange as a substitute for red. She remembered laughing when he chose _that_ to show in their flier photographs. It was like Naruto to show off his energy. The scent of orange flowers as well as lavender and musk made her relax a little. _The sooner, the better. We got a vacation that we are NOT going to miss because of work._

When they met with the kids, there was Boruto in his striped navy-and-taupe sweater and Himawari in a purple t-shirt, both in jeans - and not all that enthusiastic. They had been looking forward to the promised "family adventure" and seeing Uncle Gaara again, but now they were heading out of the country for their parents in real estate action.

The flight wasn't troublesome, and neither was landing. Hinata and Naruto rented a family-sized luxury in dark blue that carried their luggage in the trunk well. Now they were on their way to the old Oosutsuki manor deep within the bayou.

The name was very interesting. There was no mistaking it to be Japanese, but why here in the states and within a location where some people practiced voodoo today? She hadn't been told everything, but the "master" had stated that talking about such things over the phone were more...delicate and required her presence. She just hoped he wouldn't mind her bringing her husband and two children, after all.

"Just a detour, Dad?" Boruto asked boredly as he looked out the window, sitting behind his mother who was in the front passenger seat.

"Don't worry, Boruto," Naruto told him. "This meeting will take no more than twenty minutes, and then we'll leave just as night falls." At the same time, his mobile started ringing. It was Neji. Himawari squealed excitedly at the mention of her uncle's name, but her brother cracked a snort of a laugh. Hinata, on the other hand, knew this was business her cousin was contacting Naruto about, but it was promised to wait until they all returned home on Monday - not this coming, but the following. It regarded the Uchiha property, which concerned her greatly, but it had to wait, as sworn.

The deeper the family traveled into the swamp amidst willowy trees and dank atmosphere with little light, plenty of water to go around and crossing a bridge, the more you wondered if this was really America you were in and not some spooky Caribbean island where dark magic was practiced.

Now they found their way into a clearing and a smoother road - right outside a grand old gate with the letter "O" in the head crest. Beyond was a majestic mansion you would NEVER find back home. It resembled something from the Gothic tales of mystery and tragedy. "Wow, that's a whole lot of gate," Naruto stated before honking the horn. No response. He stuck his head out through the window and yelled. "Hello, the Uzumakis are here! Byakugan Real Estate!" Boruto rolled his eyes at his dad's idiotic attempts to get acknowledgement.

Hinata had no choice but to get out of the car, and her poor husband had his new shoes on as well. What made it worse and stranger was the gate was chained and locked tightly. How were they going to get in now?

"I ought to just climb around the back and surprise them if they are old folks living here," Naruto said, which was the most absurd idea she'd ever heard. _You're just going to kill them, dear._

When they were not looking, somehow, the gates unlocked themselves, the chains having vanished as if they were never there. Hinata and Naruto stared with sheer amazement.

~o~

 _Wow...I don't know how those gates opened without anyone touching them, but no matter now. We're in business, and this is gonna be something great for all of us._

This place was nothing you would have back in Konoha. It was so exciting to be in a new place. Looking in the rearview mirror, his son and daughter looked gobsmacked. The dark storm clouds were gathering over the Gothic structure, the somber trees dripping with little life from their branches over the murky green waters that surrounded the property. There was so much muck here, but he also saw potential to clean things up if it would cost money to renovate.

A crow flew above to land on one of the gated fences overhead, cawing in greeting. Naruto parked the car here, still in awe. If his father-in-law were still alive, then he would have a field day with this place. Neji would be more than enthusiastic, and Hanabi would make a joke that this would become a resort for honeymooners and happy family events.

A slamming of metal made him whip around and glare at the one he knew was responsible. Fifteen years old, Boruto thought he couldn't give a rat's ass about what happened to machinery like this. And he'd rented this one because it was an American classic. "Boruto Uzumaki, don't slam the door like that. It's sensitive."

"It's a _car,_ Dad."

"Ah! It's not just a car," he scolded with a finger raised. "It's a very delicate piece of machinery." His son only rolled his eyes before following his mother and sister when Hinata suggested they see what was around back. This just turned into a little examination of a property that would eventually become theirs to renovate and then sell to anyone happy for it.

Although, Naruto couldn't help but wonder if anyone would be interested in a centuries' old mansion out here in the middle of one of the states.

"Oh...my...God," Boruto said in dismay when they arrived around the corner and were greeted with a sight you never saw every day. "Dead people."

 _They have a cemetery in the backyard...with dead people in the ground._ The graveyard seemed to stretch for miles upon miles across a hillside. Himawari stayed close to him, eyes wide, biting her bottom lip. "Well," Hinata said with a light smile, "some people have pools and others have private burial sites. It happens at home, remember?" She was referring to her family having their own, with her own father among them, but the Hyuuga Shinto shrines had their ashes in urns in comparison to _this._

Boruto still wasn't sold on this whole idea. "You're really going to sell a house with _this._ "

"Historical manor with spacious grounds, yes," Naruto answered, annoyed by his teenager's lack of enthusiasm. And man, did that sound good to say aloud and put on the listing. But then, lightning flashed and thunder clapped, followed by a sudden downpour. Damn it, and he had his good suit and new shoes on! "Hold on, get to the front door!"

He was amazed at the size and weight of the knockers, and the fact there were no doorbells. But this place was very ancient, so nothing was updated. He'd never seen anything like this. "You think it's gonna stop, Mom?" Himawari asked timidly. Her mother patted her back as the answer.

Just like the gates, the doors creaked and opened on their own. You'd wonder how the hell that was done. But at least they were inside where it was nice and warm - and the sight the family was greeted with blew them away. Candelabra on the walls and on carved gargoyles were lit with real flames. The staircase was doubled, leading up to one platform. In the middle of the cases was a darkened arch entryway. The colorful carpets appeared dusted as the Gothic statuary. Apparently no one cleaned in YEARS. "Have you ever seen anything like this?" Hinata breathed, the breath literally knocked out of her lungs.

"Never," Naruto answered, his own tightening. _This puts us in a whole new league..._

Himawari pointed out this place had _spiders,_ and Boruto stated it smelled like no one lived here in years...before a creaking ahead of them all in the dark entryway beneath the stairs caught their attention, and the lightning lit up to show the figure of a _man_ coming their way.

He looked like a real ghost haunting these walls, for his aged face had hollow, gaunt cheeks, and his nearly bald hair had some shocks of white around the ears. There were very dark circles under his pale eyes, as if he hadn't slept well for a very long time. He was dressed in the white-gloved attire of a butler. And his voice was hoarse but defined English. "Hinata...Uzumaki?" She looked surprised that he thought to give the attention to her first, but she answered yes. "My name is Ramsley. I am the butler of this mansion."

Naruto couldn't have been happier that hired help was here. This just got a little easier. "Ramsley," he said, holding out his hand, "hello, I am Naruto Uzumaki of Byakugan Real Estate at your service."

The man stared at him hard and without emotion. "We were not expecting...others," he said, the cold tone of his voice making Naruto pull his hand back, but he wasn't put down that easily.

"Oh, well, apologies. We were on our way out on last minute notice, but then we realized the enormity and complexity of your unique estate -" Boruto and Himawari knew to be on their best behaviors, so neither rolled their eyes. "- and we wanted to commit with full resources of Byakugan Real Estate. We see in three hundred and sixty degrees, and always know to lead you the right way to your ideal home." He reached into his suit jacket pocket to pull out one of their minor merchandise gifts to give as a token of appreciation.

Ramsley took it and read it over without even a blink. "Very well," he said after a moment. "We shall have to place other settings." He turned to lead the way down the corridor he'd come. Lining up the walls were various suits of armor from medieval times, all holding axes and swords. "Master Oosutsuki wishes to discuss these affairs over dinner."

"Oh, but we have plans," Hinata insisted, then whispered harshly to him, "Honey, we can't stay for dinner."

"But we can't be rude, sweetheart," Naruto answered back. They didn't come all the way out here for nothing, did they?

"And what about our family adventure, Dad?" Boruto asked impatiently.

Naruto held up his hand to quiet the boy. "We'll just have some soup and then get going to catch the next flight, okay?" The doors to the dining room opened, and oh, did this continue to wrack him speechless. "Hey, how would you guys like to eat like THIS every day at home?" The table was long, set with a dozen chairs, candelabra lit up, and a few bowls of fruits.

"The master will be with you shortly," Ramsley said before bowing and taking his leave.

Hinata was breathless when she brought attention to the great fireplace large enough to roast four or five turkeys. The detail was exquisite with Renaissance moldings. "I've never seen anything like it..."

"Haven't you?"

Both he and his wife jumped at the voice and the brief flash of lightning. There stood another man, much younger than Ramsley and enough to be their age. He, too, was pale, dressed like he came from the late Revolutionary period. But his hair was white as the moon, and his eyes an unusual shade of light blue. His accent was soft and ethereal. "My grandfather spared no expense when he built this mansion." _Oh, so this is the master of the house._

"Your grandfather really had good taste," Naruto said delightfully, walking over to him and extending his hand. "Naruto Uzumaki of Byakugan Real Estate. Charmed to make your acquaintance, sir."

"Toneri...Toneri Oosutsuki." The pale man bowed his head and smiled, but why would he not accept his handshake? _These people must have reasons_ , he decided. Introducing his wife and kids, Toneri Oosutsuki smiled most sweetly and noted what a beautiful family it was.

"Children...madam...sir," was Ramsley's way of announcing himself and saying dinner was ready. "The master was very pleased you could come on such short notice. Normally, we would not have called so abruptly."

Knowing his wife, Hinata wouldn't be rude and say they had plans abruptly put on halt. If it was so quick and important, it must have a termite problem? Ramsley shook his head as the answer. "No, but lately there have been more...disturbances." Naruto couldn't help but let his grin falter. They had little information told, but here they were at the dinner table, so questions and answers time.

Toneri sat at the head of the table, with Naruto on his right, Hinata on the left, and the kids opposite their mother. "What do you think of the house, Mrs. Uzumaki?" he asked curiously, his smile seemingly permanent that it must have made her blush a little.

"It's absolutely...stunning," she answered, as if out of breath. "The Italian influence, Renaissance molding...it's incredible. You don't see houses like this back in Japan."

"Great care and love went into building this house," he told her. Now Naruto was bothered a little, and the kids exchanged a look with each other, though Himawari was still a little young to understand what both her brother and father were thinking.

Why was the man looking at his wife that way?

~o~

"This house is my...inheritance. My birthright," Toneri was saying, having not touched the sumptuous chicken that had been prepared and brought out to all of them. "My family is originally from your country, before we relocated to England because a distant relative on my mother's side was willing to welcome us with open arms. But then life became slightly intolerable by the time the American Revolution began, and when the colonies broke free from Britain, we made our way for the country which declared freedom." Then his face became grim, the tender smile that hadn't had a care now gone.

"But lately, it's become too much to bear."

Hinata found herself intrigued by this man's troubled but fascinating past with this house. It had been his grandfather's, his family relocating to the states at the end of the American Revolution for independence - but why was it now being a burden to him? He'd lived alone since his father's passing, with only Ramsley and the few servants seen bringing in dinner. What was he going to do now?

"Tell me, Mr. Uzumaki...do you believe in ghosts?"

The question seemed to come out of the blue and was unrelated to anything regarding the mansion. "G-ghosts?" Naruto repeated, blinking. When they were children, ghosts scared the living daylights out of him, and the phobia lessened as he grew up - but some fears were too deep-rooted to completely vanish. "Yeah, sure, I believe in ghosts." Boruto and Himawari looked at each other with the look that asked _What the hell are you doing, Dad?_ Thankfully, he jumped to a new topic. "But I don't know if that's a good question to put on the listing. You should talk about how many bathrooms are in the house. People love bathrooms. Best to put up the toilet angle and leave out ghosts for now."

Hinata found herself thinking maybe Toneri asked the question for a good reason, if it had to do with his past - and then Ramsley spoke from his position at the window where the storm had darkened into evening. "The storm has swollen the river."

"How's that?" Naruto asked.

"The storm has flooded the road," the old butler clarified, turning around and marching their way with such poise, like a statue. "I'm afraid there will be no leaving the mansion...tonight."

 _Oh, no...I knew we never should have come here._ "WHAT?!" Boruto almost shouted, his voice echoing off the walls. Himawari looked like she was about to cry, and Hinata reached to rub her shoulder to calm her down, but it did little good.

Toneri seemed unaffected. "Of course, you are all more than welcome to spend the night here," he offered politely, before his expression hardened when she had to insist that they had plans that should never have been broken in the beginning. It was hard to not be rude. His response was slightly chilling, more than the atmosphere itself.

"I'm afraid there is no other option. Ramsley will show you to your rooms."


	3. Storm the Night

**I noticed no one was reviewing so far. Pretty please? (puppy eyes)**

Chapter Three

Storm the Night

So, the storm got worse, and here they were: stuck for the night in this foreign mansion run by a young hermit - save for his old butler and a couple servants - and his wife and kids were far from thrilled at being in a huge place like this. Naruto did realize the mistake he'd made in deciding they all should be here, but it was too late. Gaara would understand, so Naruto planned to call him himself even if the distance might cost some.

Ramsley leading the way made them the "guests" of honor. This wasn't the kind of treatment you got everyday. It seemed like a walk that went on forever, until the group paused outside a door which the butler opened with one hand, holding the candelabra in the other. "The children will be comfortable in this room."

From his place, Naruto was impressed with the luxury and love. Gold and ivory moldings, red-and-gold carpeting, and exquisite mahogany wood. He could imagine the room he and Hinata would share for the night. And here they went again when Boruto sniffed. "Real homey," he said, unimpressed.

"You'll be fine," Hinata assured him and his sister, kissing them both tenderly.

Laughing nervously, Naruto slipped by her to ask the one important question that came with making sure a house was in good condition. "Guys, when you flush the toilet, check and see how quickly it refills."

Boruto rolled his eyes. "Night, Dad." Himawari kissed him on the cheek and scurried past her brother. One night in this place? Yeah, they would be just fine.

Now he and Hinata definitely got lucky. The bed was four-postered, sprawled with gold damask, and the carpets were the same as the kids'. The moldings and wood workings weren't much different, either. It was like being in a five-star hotel. "I hope you and the madame will find this room to your liking," Ramsley told them.

"It's very fine," Naruto answered happily. "Like being in a fine hotel or something."

"Would there be anything else that you require, sir?"

"Perhaps some chocolates?" Naruto asked, thinking of it as a joke, really, but in hotels, there were little sweets on the hotel pillows. But the old butler didn't seem to get the joke and merely left him and his wife alone.

And speaking of Hinata, she looked at him with such cool anger that he couldn't help but feel cold just as more rain poured outside their window. "Hey, what is wrong with you, Hina-koi?" he protested.

"Don't call me that," she snapped, whirling around on him as she was shrugging off her cardigan. "And in answer to your question: in the first place, we weren't even supposed to be here. We were supposed to be in Suna with Gaara."

Oh, right, now back to the issue in which he'd made a promise and broke it. Missed out on a fun family event - but this time, he brought his entire family down with him. "What am I supposed to do? Control the weather now, Hinata?" he asked.

"That's not the point. You couldn't resist. You just HAD to come."

"Well, excuse me, but this is a big opportunity for all of us!" Why were they fighting at this time? She never used to complain this much that he would do something which not only made her family happy, their entire town, or even their kids. He'd put in all those sales and happy customers to make sure his kids had something better than he ever did, and he was more than happy that he was beside his wife.

Hinata threw her sweater onto the bench at the foot of the bed. "Not for us - for _you,_ " she spat. "The only thing you seem to care about anymore is _work._ "

His thread snapped. "Oh, but when I am working hard, it doesn't matter as long as I bring you expensive gifts, right?" _Damn it, dummy, you shouldn't have said it that way._ But the words couldn't be taken back. She scoffed, shook her head and unfastened the watch he'd gotten her for their anniversary and tossed it onto the bed before marching for the side door that led to the bathroom. "Hinata, I didn't mean to say it." But she slammed the door in his face by the time he was close to reaching her. "Honey, open up, please."

It was a waste of time. She was giving him the silent treatment. Best thing to do was let her be. With a sigh, he turned and started when he found _Ramsley_ standing before him, stiff and expressionless. "You scared me," he said, laughing.

"Pardon the intrusion, sir, but Master Oosutsuki was wondering if he could have a word with you in the library."

 _The master of the house wants to talk business with me alone, does he?_ "Oh, yes, I'd love to. Lead the way."

Traveling down the warm, well-lit hallways amid lush architecture and then down the left staircase was an adventure in itself. Ramsley was an...interesting fellow, though he was hardly enthused when Naruto suggested he try to get a tan to do something about his ashy look. Just anything to get the old man to smile for once. When they arrived at the library, he was unsurprised to see the many books around, but what caught his attention was the magnificent portrait of a man resembling Toneri framed with pewter over the warmly roaring fireplace. Now that was class! Naruto would love to do that for himself at home over the fireplace. Maybe he could get Sai to paint his picture...

"Would you care for a drink, sir, while you are waiting?" Ramsley asked, offering him a glass of classic whiskey he'd poured. It tasted fine with age: smooth, mellow, and fiery.

"So, what do I need to know in case I do some interviewing?"

"Understanding priorities, attending to every detail...knowing one's place."

It sounded like he was being told that his place wasn't to be better than the master of this house - and something else? Naruto shrugged it off. "What about your boss's interests?" He'd love nothing more than to find out small personal details of Toneri Oosutsuki if he could. A part of the real estate business meant knowing your customer's intricacies to have a better relationship without being TOO personal.

"The master likes a great many things," Ramsley answered, clasping his hands behind his back as he started to walk about. "Art, literature, beauty..."

Now that was something that seemed much better than - "What about ghosts? Did someone put a bad clam in his jambalaya one night?"

For the first time, Ramsley showed the slightest hint of trouble in his expression. "You don't believe in ghosts, sir?"

"Absolutely not," Naruto said after taking another sip. "Let me tell you something, Ramsley: the way I see it, you only go around the track once. So you do it full-out all the way around." He grinned and swallowed more of the mellow alcohol. If he went too much with this, he'd end up being dragged back to an upset wife in the room.

"Mr. Uzumaki," the butler said, tone low now and grave, "may I confide in you?" Naruto nodded, standing up to face him. He didn't expect to hear such somber words. "The master is not well. He must leave this house and move on. It is of the gravest importance...or I fear, the very worst."

Lightning cracked as the finality.

~o~

Boruto Uzumaki was livid. Here he was in a foreign mansion guest room with his younger sister, with no cell reception, and no Uncle Gaara and his desert estate. Some start to a weekend this summer it turned out to be. _Twenty minutes tops - yeah, right. The old man always misses out on something that doesn't involve work._

Himawari didn't complain much, but he knew her better than that. She sat now at the window, looking out at the rainstorm as if waiting long enough for it to end. She just thought that the longer she watched, it would magically be over so they could hop onto the next plane back to Japan and into Suna. "Big brother?" she asked finally. "You think it's going to stop raining soon?" He snorted and put down his phone at his side.

"How should I know? I'm not the weather man."

He had paced the room back and forth for a signal when he decided that he would try the bathroom and test every angle. Some minutes passed by when he still had nothing. Damn it, he missed talking to his friends and Sarada, their shared cousin Ren -

"BORUTO!"

Himawari's scream made him dash out of the ivory and gold bathroom - in time to see WHAT made her howl. Their parents were down the hall, and it wasn't hard to figure they wouldn't come to their aid. His cell fell out of his hands and onto the carpeted floor. _Thank the gods it wasn't hard wood._

Floating in the air was a glowing ball of blue light. Some smoke wisped about. It was beautiful, empowering, and scary all in one. What the hell was that?!

His baby sister was behind him in no time. "It's a ghost ball!" she whispered in horror. Boruto scoffed and squeezed her hand in his. There was no such thing as ghosts. Little kids believed anything. Their dad was scared of them as a kid himself - but if ghosts didn't exist, how would _this_ be explained? What did this thing want of them?

The floating light began to move in the opposite direction, towards the closed door, where it vanished through the wood. _It wants us to follow it._ Himawari was scared as she was of spiders, but he wasn't going to miss out on a sense of adventure, and if she didn't like to be alone, she was going to stick by his side.

~o~

Hell of a fine mess he got himself into. He'd sat in the library, still waiting for Oosutsuki-san, enjoyed a drink and the books as well as the classy setups - he could see happy rich folks living here, or this place becoming a grand hotel resort. That might be even bigger.

His clumsiness caused him to knock down his drink from the desk by accident - and when he got it back up, he knocked a statue on the desk over. Correction, he knocked the head forward...and a bookcase ahead opened to show a _secret passageway._

Which brought him back to his predicament: Naruto was trapped within the bookcase. He didn't get to see what caused the statue head to go back up and trap him in here, but all he cared about was finding his way out of here to get back to his wife. _Hinata must be worried for me now_.

Where was the scary albino when you needed him? He did NOT mean that as a racist comment. But seriously, his cell phone flashlight could only do so much. The battery was charged, but it wouldn't last if he wasted time down here...

~o~

Her husband had vanished while she was in the bathroom. She'd been crying her eyes out, and by the time she was done, Naruto was nowhere to be seen. It was getting late, and she didn't want them both to go to bed angry.

Her watch was gone, meaning he'd picked it up and taken it with him. Where could he have gone?

Hinata stepped outside the room in time to see a woman in a maid's dress exiting another bedroom door. "H-hello?" she called softly, getting the woman's attention. "I'm looking for my husband. Can you help me?" But instead of what she needed, the other woman with the cinnamon bun hairstyle behind her head looked like she'd seen a ghost. She turned and started to flee, cradling the stack of towels against herself. Hinata wasn't sure what was wrong with her, but she wasn't going to let her get away.

But when she got to the staircase, the nameless maid had vanished into nowhere. _Strange._

Hinata found herself descending the staircase. Naruto might have gone off to explore the mansion by himself, to keep his mind off the argument, right? It wouldn't be the first time he'd wander by himself if not drinking to settle down. He wasn't an alcoholic, but when he was in the mood, he sure passed out after two or three strong ones. If she didn't find him -

"Madam?"

She was startled by Ramsley standing there. "Oh, yes, Ramsley. I was just looking for my husband." He nodded once in understanding.

"Ah, I left him in the library - right through there." He motioned past her to a doorway covered with a precious tapestry, reminding her of a medieval fairytale, and as soon as she pushed it aside, she was greeted with a world of books and Old World elegance. Immediately, she spotted the pale head in the lounge.

"Naruto?" she asked quietly. No response, making her sad. "Honey, it's late. Let's not fight anymore." She smiled sweetly even though he couldn't see her right now. "Come to bed?"

Much to her embarrassment, the man who stood up to see her wasn't Naruto - "Oh, Oosutsuki-san! I'm sorry; I thought you were my husband." Stepping back, she accidentally knocked a couple books from a stack sitting on the floor not that far away from her. Seeing this, Toneri nervously chuckled and helped her put them back into place.

"Ramsley hates it when I leave things lying about," he told her, picking up the stack and putting it on the table next to them.

"He seems a bit...proper," Hinata agreed. The man was perhaps stiffer than her father was, but Hiashi had his moments involving a sense of humor.

Toneri smiled. "He strikes most people that way. But once you get to know him, you find it's not the case. Ramsley is actually...very sweet. He was like a father to me when the one who sired me died when I was still but a young boy."

 _For him to live much of his life alone like this - has he ever been happy? In love?_ "Oosutsuki-san," she said gently, "may I ask you a question? This house...it's been in your family for generations. It's your home. Why do you _really_ want to sell it?" Whatever extra details he never shared at the dinner table, it must be more sensitive than she'd thought. And the forlorn expression on his face confirmed it.

"These walls," he said finally, "are filled with so many memories. Some of them painful. I wish for you to understand this." He offered her his arm, which startled her. He was being a gentleman in giving her his arm, like he wanted to lead her away from this position and show her around. "It's all right, Hinata-kun. There is nothing to be afraid of."

Her arm may have moved of its own volition and looped through his. Now he was speaking again.

"It may be faded and worn from its original grandeur, but this house was once filled with so many things, so much life: grand parties, dancing, laughter, and hope above all. It was like a celestial temple but with humanity. Being an Oosutsuki in these lands meant nothing was denied to you. The world was all yours." So, at one time, he had everything, his family had it all...but something terrible had happened to cause it all to collapse.

"What happened?" Hinata asked.

Toneri's smile slowly slipped, but it remained half up. His pale blue eyes shone a little with some life. "There was a woman who once roamed these walls - her name was Harumi. Her story is the one which haunts these walls more than any ghost of the past..."

 **Duh duh duh, the plot thickens. :D Harumi comes from a character in the anime "The Irresponsible Captain Tylor", which is funnier than shit because the titular character is voiced by none other than Crispin Freeman (a nice change from the dark, brooding manly guys he's voiced, Itachi included).**


	4. Ghosts

Chapter Four

Ghosts

Who'd have thought he would find himself discovering one of the traditional clichés of a "haunted house"? A secret hiding place behind a painting in the wall, and he had short fun finding the opening and closing eyes to peep out and see if the coast was clear. When all was well, Naruto opened the door from inside and stepped out into another dark hallway, lit with more candelabra.

 _This is getting too much. I'm a grown-ass man. I shouldn't be thinking I am in a real haunted house. But all these things I am seeing: statue heads in the walls, old timey pictures of the past...this weird, cold feeling that I am being watched..._

Naruto thought he'd stopped believing in ghosts when he was a kid. If this was just a dream, then he wished he could wake up. But his and Hinata's argument had happened, he'd talked to Ramsley, waited in the library only to find the passageway behind the bookcase - and here he was trying to find his way out, with his cell phone pocketed in exchange for a candlabra to hold by hand as he turned around the corner to his right -

"Oh, you got to be kidding me," he groaned when he saw the door at the end of the corridor. Lights in frosted glass lit up to show dark jewel-toned damask wallpaper. The Renaissance-molded door was _heaving_ , in and out like a bloated stomach. Naruto cringed. He was probably just imagining it like that, and it had to only be termites, that was all.

He had no problem opening it and then finding himself into another hallway - and this time involved _mirrors._

 _And a telephone ringing._ Who the hell had a phone down here where no one would find? But Naruto might be in luck; if it was ringing then, he might get Ramsley or Toneri himself to try and find him or at least give him instructions to come back to them, since this old place must have blueprints they knew too well...

But when he found the damned landline, no one was on the other end. Either it was his imagination getting the best of him, or someone was literally messing with him. Putting it back, Naruto looked up at his reflection in the mirror, impressed with how sharp and spotless it was, and to be framed with draping dark velvet and two crystal chandeliers on either side - and his heart jumped against his sternum when a CAW startled him. A raven had perched its way on top of the brass frame. Naruto laughed; he'd scared himself silly over a stupid bird.

But the word scared quickly caught up to him when he looked at his reflection in the mirror and _really_ screamed. Flesh dried and decayed off his face, and his lips rotted away to show his jagged teeth. He quickly closed his eyes and really wished it was all a dream...

...and when he reopened them, his face was restored to life as if nothing had happened. Naruto blinked in surprise and leaned in closer, putting his free hand to his cheek to feel for further inspection. Was it just a trick mirror like one of those carnival rides?

 _Whatever the hell just happened, I gotta get out of here fast._

~o~

 _This is what I have been reduced to, and I'm getting too grown up for this. Following a ghost ball with my baby sister to who knows the hell where._ He and Himawari had trailed the thing to an elevator that took them upstairs - and now they arrived at a set of stairs that took them further up north. He had a feeling it was something extremely important that the spirit wanted them to follow it so bad.

Himawari didn't seem scared anymore, not even when they got on that elevator against better judgment, but she still wouldn't let it slide.

They found themselves in the attic now. Dusted, covered with white sheets and old boxes...everything was there. Boruto even saw a harp that reached his height and body width. Aunt Hanaru could play it flawlessly along with his mom as well as Aunt Sakura. All the women in his family could do the girly instruments if they were good at it. Himawari was learning the flute and the _shamisen_.

One odd thing they passed was a white dress covered with a sheer black material. What was that, a wedding dress? _Someone from a long time ago never got to see her wedding day to the guy she loved. But what do I know about that stuff?_ His sister's harsh breath of his name made him turn around and see what her attention was on now - and his heart stopped in its tracks. "M-Mom?"

The woman looked so much like Hinata that it was uncanny and scary. Her long raven hair was in a bun and placed with a couple chopsticks, dressed in a Japanese kimono of gold, and her lips were painted a dark red - stark against her pale face.

"What are you doing up here?" a gruff voice demanded behind them. "You're not supposed to be up here. This is unspeakable." Boruto turned with his sister to see the speaker who caught them in this place where they never should have been. "You have to leave at once." The guy had the lower half of his face bandaged, his dark hair spiked up, and he was dressed up like a servant that had nothing to do with modern standards. Boruto then remembered this guy was one of them from dinner.

"Who is that?" he asked, uncaring that they weren't allowed in this place. They had been led up here for a reason, and that woman who looked like his mother...

"That's none of your concern," the man snapped. "Now, follow me. It's past your bed time."

"Her name was Harumi."

The new voice who showed up was a _girl_ in a black and white maid's dress, but if you listened to the voice, you'd recognize the deep undertone. _That has to be a boy dressing up as a maid - or too pretty to be a boy. Plus, I see how flat-chested - what the hell?_ "Haku," the bandaged man growled, "hold your tongue. This is none of their concern."

"I beg your pardon, Zabuza," the person named Haku replied calmly, "but they are involved in this." He seemed like he would give them the answers - but they never got them when there were footsteps heard. Haku's eyes bulged. "Hide!" He and Zabuza who grumbled the entire time ushered him and Himawari behind a big trunk and some other stuff in time for the person coming their way. Boruto had to cover his sister's mouth when they recognized Ramsley the butler. That dude really made him uncomfortable, but it did worse for Himawari. He stayed right with her as the man came closer to be before Zabuza and Haku.

"The children," he said coldly, "are not in their room. Where are they?"

Haku seemed unafraid, or if he was, he didn't show it. "Children, sir?"

The old man should have narrowed his eyes, but he really did know how to intimidate. "The children... _her_ children. Whom she was not supposed to bring - along with that brainless husband of hers," he spat disgustedly. "If I had to listen to another word from that insufferable fool Naruto Uzumaki, I would have burst. Did I not tell her to come alone? Is it too much to ask for a little cooperation, a little _order_?"

"Of course not, sir," Zabuza stated. "What do you wish us to do?"

"If you find the children, bring them to me. They cannot know anything. There is too much at stake. The final arrangements have been made; nothing will further interfere with the master's plans." With that, he left the two where they were. Both Zabuza and Haku shared a glance with each other, though it was clear the former was at a dilemma between turning both the kids in or just letting them slip. But it seemed Haku was the one who turned out to be his weak spot and the voice of reason.

"You two," he said kindly to Boruto and Himawari, but Zabuza cut him off.

"I guess it seems you both need to know since you've heard enough."

 _Hell yeah,_ Boruto thought. "Then you can start by saying why that woman in the picture looks like our mom," he said.

~o~

Someone was talking at the end of the tunnel he finally reached. Naruto was on the verge of jumping in joy. Finally, someone was there!

"Thank God I heard your voice!" he yelled down to the light, where he glimpsed more precious tapestries - dark red the color of blood as well as gold embroidery. There was also a strange green light, but at least it told him someone was really there. "I need some help. I lost my way and don't know how to get out of here." He stopped there and cleared his throat, realizing how frazzled he sounded, but that was because of the damned freak show he experienced behind him. "I was supposed to meet with Oosutsuki-san, but I got stuck in the wall."

By the time he was in the room, he was instantly reminded of a gypsy caravan like the ones that used to come into town when he, Hinata and their friends were kids. The unseen woman's voice floated in the air like a haunting melody. _"Goblins and ghouls from last Halloween, awaken the spirits with your tambourine..."_

Naruto chuckled nervously, putting his hands on his hips. "Okay, I hear you, but I don't see you." He nearly jumped out of his skin when the voice _came_ from the glowing green ball on the table - and there was a FACE in there. _What the - WHAT THE HELL?! A FACE IN THE CRYSTAL BALL FOR REAL?! What the heck is going on here?_

 _"Naruto Uzumaki..." Oh, great, it knows my name. "- I am Tsunade-sama, the seer of all and voice to the spirits. Whom do you seek?"_ He suddenly found that this was pretty amusing, talking to a head in a ball. If this was some kind of holographic projection, then maybe he could have some fun - only for the good moment to be ruined when something appeared out of nowhere and trapped him to the table. A chair had slammed into his backside and forced him to seat.

"Hey, what the hell is this?! Let me out!" He thrashed only to be silenced by the demand of _"whom do you seek"._ Naruto glared down in exasperation. "I am _seeking_ a way out of here!"

Tsunade in the ball blinked without expression, but her eyes were hard as spa rocks, her voice softened now from the earlier aggression. _"Then you must look within."_ He sputtered at the goddamned cryptic words of the crazy lady on the table.

"Look within? I want to look _without!_ "

 _"There is great evil in this house - a devil's curse. It seeks to destroy you."_

 _What, a curse? I don't buy that psychobabble! I didn't come all this way to listen to some freak show and spiritual bull!_ "Why would something seek to destroy me? I'm just here to sell the house," Naruto said angrily, his limits being tested as it was.

Tsunade closed her eyes and began to chant first in an unidentified language before returning to English. _"Dark spirits from the grave, come forth. Lift us from the black and show us the way back..."_

"D-Dark spirits?" Naruto sputtered, his childhood fears suddenly coming forth and taking over his logical thinking. Oh, no evil spirits! She'd better not make any of those guys come out...!

But just then, everything in the room began to lift and float by invisible and frightening force - and the chair he was trapped in was included. The table with Tsunade's ball face was rotating like a planet in the solar system, and the crystal itself floated above it and remained unturned - or was it he couldn't SEE clearly since it was just a sphere, being the same at every angle? - before more items joined in, and the most ridiculous ones ever. _A marching band!_ Honking horns, beating drums, a harp - you name it, and they were all around him.

His protests of wanting to remain on the ground were in vain.

 _"Lift us through this stormy night...evil and darkness have fallen this night. But now to survive, you must gain new sight." I must first gain new underwear! I'm close to ruining the ones I have on. "Only the light will lead the way. Follow it and find your way home. Uzumaki, your family is at stake - your very life is at stake. Break the curse. There is no escape for you unless you lift this spell. Release her - release us all!"_

"I'm getting so queasy," Naruto moaned, squeezing his eyes shut from this. His stomach rolled so badly - Tsunade's laughter rang in his ears along with the obnoxious marching band - and then it dropped as he did along with the other items in the room. His heartbeat was so rapid he thought he was going to die here and now...

 _That's it; I'm getting the hell out of this._

He bolted away from that room, dodging the marching band that continued to chase after him for the fun of it; he turned two more corners in desperation and without a care of which one he took, ending with slamming the door in the "face" of the band. It calmed him down enough to know he was safe and sound. All of this supernatural crap had gone too far. To hell with selling this place after all, and to hell with the rain and mud out there. It would be worth an escape.

"DAD!"

Naruto looked up and was more than happy to see both his kids up there, at the top of the stairs. But behind them were the two servants he remembered. Great, now that Boruto and Himawari were there, they could get out of dodge - but get their mother, first, too. By the looks of it, they were both fine. "Okay, you guys get your things and we can get on out of here," he told them, but they wouldn't budge.

"But Daddy," Himawari protested, "we have a problem."

"What, because of the rain? Getting a little wet won't kill us. So, let's just find your mom and let's get out of here."

One of the servants was a man bandaged in the face, making him wonder if he'd had an accident at one time. And he sounded meaner and gruff. "She can't leave," he said bluntly. "It's not possible."

Naruto was bristled. What gave this guy the right to say Hinata wasn't allowed to go with her husband and two children? "And why not?" he demanded.

"Because she can't." He gasped sharply and whirled around to see the man standing there. And wasn't he just _up there_ a second ago? _Okay, I can tolerate a green-faced gypsy lady in a crystal ball and a floating marching band, trick mirror reflections and whatever, but what is this now?!_ "Even if I could tell you, I would. But I can't, so I will not."

"Look, man, I don't know who you think you are, but I have a right to take my family out of this crazy house, since the United States of America permits it even to foreigners -" Naruto started sharply.

The man held up his hand to quiet him. "I am Zabuza, and you have said enough. Your kids have seen enough and never should have had their noses where they don't belong."

Boruto called back down. "You heard him, Dad. They need our help. They're ghosts," he said, sparking the fire of dismay again. His fifteen-year-old must be turning just like him now, was he?

"Boruto, they are NOT ghosts," he stressed, trying to rattle his brain for what was causing these insane ideas. "We're all just having hallucinations from that dinner we ate. It had to be the chicken not tasting right -"

In a flash of blue, the other person in the maid's dress was in front of him. "Excuse me," the girl said indignantly, "it's NOT the chicken!" He blinked in surprise; okay, no regular person would just appear from the top of the stairs to the bottom in a flash, so maybe for the sake of argument, these people _were_ ghosts, and that was all the more reason to bolt out of here. And his son really thought they could stay behind to help them. Why couldn't the kids see that the dead were always beyond help?

"The fool's talking sense," Zabuza grumbled. "Everyone should really keep their noses in their own business."

"But Dad," Boruto protested, "we have to help them break the curse!"

"Why is everyone talking about a curse? I just got back from that nonsense with the crazy green gypsy -" That sparked the attention of Zabuza and the maid. "- and then I ended up trapped to a chair, floating around the room with a marching band on my tail, so no one is going to stay one more minute in this house!" he said, stomping his foot with finality - until Himawari piped up when someone should have said so earlier.

"But Mom is in trouble!"

He stiffened in his spot. _What kind of trouble...?_ And he got his answer back up in the attic where they'd all been...and that was when he saw the portrait of the beautiful Asian woman who looked so much like Hinata, his wife.

Everything began to click then and there.

~o~

The rain continued to pour in the darkness outside the window they stood. Toneri had been gazing out the entire time, his soft voice a melodic lilt to the dark and sad atmosphere.

"She died in this house," he whispered, his breath lightly fogging the glass. "She was so very young, so very beautiful. Harumi was free-spirited, bright and full of life. She dared to cross any lines to come, just as she crossed the oceans to come here for independence. She knew of my family's existence because she was a distant tie. It was this decision that brought her to the very love of her life - the heir of this mansion."

There was only one man that crossed Hinata's mind. "Your grandfather," she answered. He nodded, turning his face halfway to hers.

"And he loved her more than life itself." Then he returned his gaze back to the storm. "But despite any connections, they were truly from different worlds and couldn't be together." _Which means that if they couldn't have each other, one of them couldn't bear to live without the other._

"How did she die, Toneri?" she asked, reaching up to finger her necklace.

His answer was blunt and devoid of emotion. "Poison," was all he said, and the answer struck her core like the next lightning bolt. _Harumi took her own life. She killed herself because she couldn't be with the man she loved due to society standings, and the fact she was a foreigner not yet accepted._ Toneri really was haunted more than she'd believed. "Without her, his life became unbearable. Nothing in the world meant anything to him anymore. Without hope, love - but most of all, Harumi..." He now turned his entire face back to her, expression hard and crystalline as a precious gemstone.

"...he drove his own letter opener through his heart."

Hinata's heart froze with the monstrous image conjured up. Her grip around her necklace became painful enough to nearly snap the delicate chain. "His soul wanders these halls, waiting for her to return." Now he was close enough to nearly touch her face with his nose; she had to inch away. Not only was his proximity making her feel a little uncomfortable, but so was the imagination that his grandfather, the one who built this mansion, also took his own life in the name of love. "If you listen carefully, you can still hear the beating of his broken heart."

Somehow, she could. But the only beats she heard were her own and _his._


	5. The Graveyard

Chapter Five

The Graveyard

Naruto's line between fantasy and reality had just mixed into one gigantic blur as Tsunade the gypsy in the crystal ball regaled him and his kids with the wildest - but sensible - tale he'd ever heard in his life.

Toneri Oosutsuki was truthfully the grandson of a Japanese landlord who set foot on American grounds to build this mansion, after years of struggle and working his way up in England, by the time King George III lost the American colonies. However, his grandfather and father to follow passed on, which left him running the estate alone and carrying the Oosutsuki name in his shoes. He made the lands flourish - until one day, he met a young woman who also escaped her country during a terrible battle that had broken out. She fell in love with Toneri, but that was not the half of it.

That girl was the one in the painting...the one who looked like _Hinata._

Her name was Harumi Ukatane. She had connections to the Oosutsuki, but her rank was lower than his, and yet he was willing to throw it away in the name of love. But it seemed she thought he wouldn't keep his promise and would decide, in the end, his family name had to be secured. Love, on her part, wouldn't have triumphed in the end. So she poisoned herself because she couldn't bear to live without him, as mentioned in the suicide letter she left him, and for the servants to find themselves after - and then he took his own life afterwards.

"Wait a minute," Naruto said when the gypsy was finished, "hold it a second. You mean to tell me this guy is dead, and the reason we were all brought here was because he wants to try and get jiggy with my wife?!" _Toneri sees Hinata as a reincarnation of the woman he loved, and the entire "house for sale" had all been nothing but a ploy. I can't believe I thought this would be an exciting new adventure - or maybe "exciting" was taken to a new level._

Zabuza and Haku seemed amused by his reaction. "Very much," the gruff guy drawled. "Are you...upset?"

Naruto put his hands on his hips and glowered. "The guy is dead, and he's trying to get with my wife! And the house isn't really for sale? Yes, I'm upset!" Just when things couldn't get any worse. If there was a way to get to Hinata before Oosutsuki could snatch her completely, and if there was a way to escape this cursed place.

"Lady Tsunade," Haku said, coming to lean a little over the table, his feminine face in awe, "is it her? Is she truly our dear departed Harumi come back to us?"

 _"It is true. She walks these halls." Oh, hell no, that is so not! But what the hell, if she really IS Harumi, then what do we do to make sure everyone is happy?!_

"I told you all, it _is_ her," Zabuza said smugly, but then it was gone as quickly as it came when Tsunade continued on.

Himawari held onto her father's hand, which he subconsciously returned since she'd seen what a child could witness only in their imagination. She really was trying to put on a brave face if she wanted to help her mom. _"But do not be deceived,"_ Tsunade said firmly. _"All things are not as they appear. For the curse to be lifted, the truth must be known. And for the truth to be known, you must find the key."_

So, there might be a chance Toneri was mistaken, and Harumi was NOT Hinata, his wife, but what about the rest of it? There was more truth than already told, and to uncover this mystery...they had to find a _key_? "What key are you talking about, Ball Granny?" Naruto asked.

 _"Enter the tomb under the great dead oak, and travel down deep under the ground. There you will find the key that must be found. Find the black crypt that bears no name...or soon your fate will be the same."_ She was saying that all they had to do was find this key and then walk away with his family intact. Naruto suppressed a whistle of relief; this should be no problem. _"The key is the answer to all."_

"Great," Naruto said happily. "I'm in. Let's go get this key."

Boruto looked between his father and the crystal ball. "There's one problem," he said, raising an eyebrow in question. "How do we get out?"

Nobody liked the look in Zabuza's eyes when he suggested _his_ way: a carriage, hauled by a skeletal horse, through one of the brick walls of the mansion that took them straight for the graveyard. Boruto and Himawari seemed to be enjoying the bumpy ride - as long as Zabuza knew what he was doing. Haku sometimes kept trying to take the reins so the maniac wouldn't kill them all, to which he got, "That is where you are wrong, Haku, because some of us are already dead!" _Yeah, you two, and you got three living passengers!_

Thankfully, the carriage slowed to a gentle ride much to Naruto's relief. But the calm didn't last long because he and the kids were given another show for the ride. It was like being in an amusement park, only for real.

Ghosts of every sort were floating about or doing their activities as if nothing was going on. Three that passed by were in top hats and on bicycles. As they progressed, two more engaged in a gunshot match with a small audience watching, but their bluish heads turned to smoke and reverted back to normal. There was also a tea party going on with some lovely ladies from the late eighteenth-century.

"D-Daddy, I see dead people," Himawari said softly, doe-eyed but also curious, not scared this time.

Naruto poked his head out a little to call up to the driver himself. "Zabuza, why are all these ghosts still hanging around here?"

"Doomed to wander the earth for all eternity," was the somber reply.

Haku nodded in agreement. "When they died, they couldn't find the light. We are among them. We are all...trapped," he said, sounding like he was trying not to cry. Naruto couldn't help but feel sad and sorry for them, and all these other lost souls hanging around. _That's what Tsunade-baa said when she mentioned the curse. This must be it._ But what could he really do to help? The dead had means beyond his comprehension. All he wanted was his family away from here, and then they would waste no time going to Gaara like they should have done in the first place...

Some time passed before the carriage came to a halt. Now they would walk the ground from here and come back once they found the damned key. But all they needed to find was the mausoleum it was in.

And that meant going down deep underground...

~o~

 _He was willing to throw even his wealth and lands away in the name of love - but here are the possessions that remained up here in the years. Toneri to come up here and be haunted by his family's past, or at least try to avoid it...I can understand now what a burden it was. If I lost Naruto, and if he lost me, I don't know what would have happened. We were never perfect, but we've made each other and our children have the best they could. Naruto never had a birth family besides his sister who is also my best friend, he lived difficult, and my father may have been strict on him, but Father loved him like his own._

All of that was both beside the point but also had everything to do with what Oosutsuki-san had told her. She understood him and cracked inside thinking about everything he told her. Now they were here in the attic where he wished to show her what would have been Harumi's before the horrid night his grandfather found his dead fiancée at the stroke of midnight, just after receiving the note that butchered his entire world - and tore his soul into pieces of paper beyond repair.

"This was to have been her wedding dress," Toneri told her softly as he showed her the wonderful but tragic reminder, which was draped finely with sheer dark gossamer. Hinata wanted to touch it but felt it unwise as it seemed so fragile. Something told her that when she and Naruto one day had their vows renewed to show how much their love and marriage was still strong, this could have been perfect. The dress was so simple but completely stunning; the sleeves were off the shoulders, the silk fabric of the bodice ruched and cascading down into an ethereal skirt. The sheer, kimono-like sleeves themselves were encrusted with pastel flowers once darker than shown, but now faded with age.

Hinata breathed through her nose, her heartbeat picking up a bit. "Oh...it's lovely," she gasped, then jumped a little when he came to stand a little _too_ close and breathed against her ear.

"It would have been lovelier if she'd had a chance to wear it." He then reached behind the dress on the mannequin to pull out a box that looked like rosy wood etched with golden leaves in a swirling motif. "And these would have been the jewels she wore." He opened the lid to show a background of ivory-and-gold damask beneath crystal chandelier earrings that resembled peacock feathers. The choker was a white satin ribbon encrusted with glistening jewels. And finally - "As I have said, Harumi was free-spirited, bright and full of life. She dared to cross any lines to come; he was enraptured by her spirit and her beauty. She was every inch this jewel is." _Her engagement ring._ It was set in a disc glowing with small diamonds in every form - but the center attraction was big and asscher-cut, flashing with a rainbow prism.

It glowed brighter than her own wedding ring.

Toneri closed the box and put it back to where it was, pursing his lips tighter. "Now all of this serves only as a dark reminder of what could have been."

"I can't imagine how...monstrous and awful that must have been," Hinata answered, looking up at the elegantly carved face. It wasn't Naruto, the man she loved and married so long ago, but this man whose grandfather had been deprived of what he should have had, and for his grandson to live alone and suffer the family sins... "To love someone so much and then to lose them so suddenly."

He was now leaning closer to her, his eyes darkening a little. "If you truly love someone, they never leave you. They remain in your heart...forever." His body came close to nearly touching hers again; somehow, she found herself being drawn under his spell with the power of dragging her deeper into the recesses of the past's darkness.

 _But it seems he knows so well what true love is like. If it can be worth it all despite the painful defeat in the end._

~o~

"Isn't it romantic, Daddy?" Himawari asked happily as they walked through a muddier part of the cemetery. But these parts were devoid of the ghosts they'd seen before. "He was willing to throw everything away for love."

Naruto snorted. He would have said yes to that, but look at him as an example. Perhaps he could have lessened a little in real estate for the sake of spending more time with his family. Hinata could manage on her own, or he could have asked Neji to cover him, but that wasn't Naruto's character. He never backed down, like a real man, he made a lot of people happy - and he thought he'd make his wife and kids feel the same.

Toneri Oosutsuki had it all himself, but then he met someone like him in nativity but different in social standards. He'd been willing to give away his lands and be with the woman he loved, but then she'd killed herself when she believed the promise couldn't be kept. "Yeah, well, now he's broke, dead and cursed. Nice move," Naruto said sarcastically, before a loud _squish_ sounded beneath him. "Oh, crap. These are my new shoes."

Unfortunately, the kids were unable to watch their steps. "Oh, crap!" Boruto said in disgust.

"Hey, Boruto, don't say 'crap' in front of your sister." He cringed by accidentally saying it to begin with.

Well, it seemed they were lost now. Where the heck were they now? They were supposed to find the mausoleum, but where would they go from here? "I think the gypsy lady said something about..." Himawari cringed a little as she thought hard. "...making a left at an oak." _Glad she was so specific. I don't even see an oak tree around here anywhere..._

 _Wait._

In the distance, he heard _voices_. They were coming around the statues of angels behind them. "Hey...do you hear that?" he asked the kids. They agreed, and the trio slipped around one angel to see where the source was coming from - and this wasn't as scary as it was morbid as ghosts or even zombies.

Four statue heads of perhaps founding fathers were on Roman or Greek pillars and singing a tune.

 _"- and harmonize, when we ghosts come out to socialize! Doom, doom, doom, doom. When the cryptos creak and the tombstones quake, spooks come out for a swinging wake -"_

These guys better be able to help them out. "Guys, excuse me," Naruto called out to them, and their song ended immediately. They regarded him with quirking eyebrows. "Sorry to interrupt, but I was wondering if you knew where the mausoleum was."

They responded, but not in the way he expected. Himawari and Boruto looked at each other like these statue dudes were a new sideshow presentation. _"Down by the old mill stream where I first met you..."_

"Oh, no, no. I think they said it was an old oak that was by the -"

 _"By the light - by the light of the silvery moon -"_

Naruto resisted growling. "You sound really good, your harmony tight. But I'm in a hurry to find my wife. She'll be -" Okay, now he could unleash his frustration when they cut him off again.

 _"Comin' 'round the mountain when she comes - when she comes. She'll be comin' 'round the mountain -"_

He sputtered to get them to quiet down. "Listen, I'm trying to find a key -"

 _"Where's the key? Where's the key? Where's the beautiful key? Find the key, find the key - oh, how happy you'll be?"_

Naruto's impatience was lost at once. He was boiling inside to optimum at their lack of help. They didn't have time for this! "The key I am trying to find is in the _mausoleum_ ," he ground.

 _"You left your key in a mausoleum..."_ If he wasn't frustrated enough, his son was worse and chose to stalk off - but it was also a miracle Boruto did, because not even two seconds later, he shouted that he'd found it. The four statues repeated the words of the teenager. _"Dad, there it is!"_

"Thanks for nothing," Naruto grumbled, following his kids in the direction where Boruto said the very place they came for was...and little did they know the next biggest nasty surprise in store for them.

 **When Naruto and Boruto step in the mud and say "crap" - it's the same moment from the movie. I remember when I first saw it, I laughed my ass off and loved repeating it. XD**

 **Oh yeah, things get a whole lot scarier. If you've seen the film, you know what's coming. :O Grab your pillows or the person next to you (maybe) and brace yourself for what happens in the crypt down below...**


	6. Terror in the Mausoleum

**It's easy to get scared by something inside the crypt when you are a young child, am I right? This is perhaps the worst thing to do on Halloween with your friends as a teenager, but when the one you love is in danger, it means going to extreme lengths necessary - even if you have no real idea what to expect ahead. (cold sweat)**

Chapter Six

Terror in the Mausoleum

The fog was picking up around their feet, but this was the least of their worries. _We are really living a horror movie or Gothic story period. Dead guy sees my wife as the reincarnation of his lost beloved, I ended up trapped in a bookcase to go through a freak show, a gypsy in a crystal ball says I have to break a curse - now I have to go through a graveyard with my kids to find a key to get us all out in one piece._

On par: there stood the great crypt, powerful and intimidating. The only sources of light were the two bonfires on either side of the entrance. Another crow cawed and came to rest someplace on the domed rooftop, which was supported by smooth pillars.

"Kids," Naruto said, "stay close." He wasn't going to take any chances if there would be more pop-up surprises in store, and tonight proved there definitely would be.

Just as they were on the first marble step, more light burst to life in the form of torches held by hooded monk statues. The door was wrought iron, thick and barricaded by a rusty-looking sliding lock, and draped over the front was an old parchment with strange letters.

 **Numera omnes qui ingrediuntur caveant**

 **Hic jacet mortuum putei abyssi**

"It's Latin," Boruto said, going up to read it. "And it's warning us to not go in."

How could he forget his son studied the dead language in school for two years? It wasn't like everyone in Japan could understand another language besides their own and English, but he wanted to be proven wrong on that. "What does it say?"

The teenager cleared his throat and turned back to read. "'Beware all who enter - here lies the passage to the dead.'" He visibly stiffened as if not liking the sound of that - but Himawari reacted and turned to leave. She was scared about WHAT could be down there, and all it had taken was a stupid Latin warning to give her the same effect spiders would. She would also be likely to face those little beasts down there.

"Himawari, you're ten years old. You got to start being braver," Naruto insisted.

"I just turned ten!" _Which means she is still getting used to this. Oh, well, it means I have to leave her and her brother up here while I go down there myself._

But Boruto was far from thrilled with the idea. "I'm not going to leave your sister up here by herself," Naruto said sternly. With that, he went for the lever on the door, pulling it up and then over to unlock the ancient entrance. Now that was done, and all he needed was something to help him see and get through down that godforsaken abyss called a spiraling staircase. He picked up the torch from the statue on his right. "You guys stay here together, and I'll be right back."

"Twenty minutes tops, right?" Boruto grumbled. Naruto nodded, though he had a feeling it wouldn't even _be_ twenty minutes.

Spider webs were minor problems to easily dodge the deeper down he traveled, and what felt like forever passed by when he finally found himself at the bottom. Man, was this place _huge!_ Water dripped from hidden places as well as flooded the bottom. An iron bridge connected from his floor to the other side which was a platform. Naruto flinched at some of the coffins at the bottom, floating atop the water. _The poor souls must not be resting in peace because of improper burials._

Now that he was here, what was it that Tsunade the gypsy told him to look for? "She said look for a crypt..." He scowled as he tried to wrack his head. "A crypt..."

"A crypt without a name!"

His heart jumped murderously when he whipped and saw who had startled the living daylights out of him. "What's the matter with you, Boruto?" he almost shouted. "You can't be popping out like that! You nearly gave me a heart attack." He scowled when he saw Himawari wasn't with him. "And I thought I told you to wait with your sister!" But Boruto just shrugged and waltzed his way down the steps.

"I was worried you wouldn't find it. And Himawari said she was just fine being by herself; it was better for her than being around literal dead people rather than ghosts," the teen stated with a smirk before getting serious again. "Lady Tsunade said 'find the black crypt with no name or soon your fate will be the same.'" He really knew how to put the emphasis on the mood, didn't he? Naruto guessed he could use his son's help, after all.

And the one they were looking for just happened to be before their eyes - and on the platform across the bridge. The coffin was black and sleek, and there didn't seem to be a headstone to say whose corpse was resting inside. He swallowed hard as he tried to imagine pulling the key from THAT, if it was there...

"I'm officially starting to get sick of this place," Naruto muttered as they were walking over the bridge together.

"And we are here 'cause of _who?_ " Boruto sneered.

 _Now's not the time to start more mess than there already is._ "Boruto, I'm not an idiot about what you're implying. We are here because I am seriously taking my responsibility as a breadwinner. You guys know that I never had parents, but your mother and her family were the first real ones I had as a kid - oh, and your Aunt Hanaru, too. Your grandfather was something like my father, but having a blood father never around was something else. In short, I do what I do because I want you guys to have what I didn't have."

Boruto looked surprised. "I didn't know your childhood was that bad."

"What -" Naruto started before catching himself. "My childhood wasn't that bad. It's one thing to grow up with nothing, but wanting your kids to have something better is something else. Wait until you get married and have children of your own." Now they were in front of the crypt, and he'd given the torch to Boruto to hold while he pushed off the lid with all his might...and revealed a rotten _stench_ coming from a dead man faded to the bone. Now that was something you never got to see every day.

And there was the key in its possession. Which meant he had to get his hands dirty and snatch it from a strong, bony grasp. "Ewww," he moaned, and was relieved when he finally got the key in hand. It was bronze, definitely looking like something made in Victorian or pre-Revolutionary times. _Great, now let's get out of here._

"That gypsy granny had me thinking that was gonna be hard," he said to his son when they started walking over the bridge. "That was _easy_." Then they both stopped in their tracks at the sound of rumbling behind them. A cold fear raced up their spines in a split second. Slowly, they turned around to see where it was coming from...

...only to see the corpse sitting upright and slowly turning its face in their direction, the jaws parting to growl as it laid its sights on the ones who disturbed its sleep.

Naruto just about had his heart attack, and as a consequence, the key slipped out of his hand. _Damn it, why was I so stupid to not put it in my pocket?! I never should have assumed it would be without trouble. These grounds are haunted...oh, no, not again!_ He'd tried to pick the key up...only for it to slip through the crack and fall into the black waters below. Which meant one of them would have to - "Go get the key!" he shouted to Boruto, who bolted forward to slide down the side and into the water. "I'll take care of him!"

The zombie was advancing, climbing out of its tomb and hissing as it jerked his way. "Hey, hey, go back to bed!" Naruto stammered at random. What was he going to do now? He held out his hand in hopes he could try and talk it back to sleep. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki of Byakugan Real Estate. What's your name? Look, I don't want no trouble. I just came to get the key. The gypsy told me it was all right - OH!" He yelped and dodged the monster as it came _too_ close, then turned back to him.

"Let me tell you something: I need the key to free my wife. I don't want no trouble. Seriously, back up!" One more slip away was the last straw. He wasn't going to waste any more time trying to be nice. Zombies were devoid of rhyme or reason. In some lore, they were known to eat flesh and brains, but he wasn't going to test that theory. "You asked for it." Just when the fiend turned back around, Naruto swung the torch and WHACKED the head off, sending it flying in a random direction, hitting a spot, and the body followed after, toppling over the bridge - away from where his son was still down there - and splashed heavily before vanishing into the bottom. "Next time, you're gonna think twice before coming back from the dead, ain't you?" Naruto snapped with a jerking nod, then turned down to where Boruto was. "Did you get the key?"

"Still looking, old man!"

He'd always known it wouldn't be easy to find the key down there. "Take your time and relax," he assured the boy easily. "I have everything under control...completely under control..." But how wrong he'd been. Looking up, he saw the rows upon rows of caskets exposed shaking, and then the sides opened to show skeletal hands dripping decomposed meat trying to finish the job and part it ways. "BORUTO!" he shouted. "YOU BETTER LOOK FASTER!"

While his son was busy, Naruto could only watch in frozen horror with one word slipping past his lips: "Jeez..." Zombies - more zombies getting out of their caskets, others breaking through entombed walls, screeching and growling their way towards him. One even came from the floor after pushing a tile out of the way. Using the torch to wave them off could only do so much.

Never in his life did he think he would hear his fifteen-year-old son scream like a little girl. Looking down, he saw Boruto with the key in hand and splashing away from the undead horde that came his way. "Son, give me your hand!" Naruto yelled, and the kid hauled himself up as his father pulled him out.

They were running away up the stairs in no time, and they wouldn't stop until they got to the opened entrance where Himawari was jumping up and down. "Come on, guys, hurry up!" she cried - but then the door slammed shut and locked from the outside. Supernatural force doing the damned trick. Now they were trapped here.

"Himawari, open the door!" Naruto shouted. He looked behind him to see no signs of the walking corpses - yet.

She yelled back. "Dad, there are spiders everywhere, and I don't have a magazine!" _Oh, hell...now her fear keeping her from saving our skins._

"Are you scared?" Naruto called over, getting an affirmative. "Hey, baby, it's okay to be scared. Everyone gets scared once in a while. But you can't let it stop you." He swallowed. "Even Daddy is scared right now."

But Boruto wasn't anywhere near supportive as a patient father would be. "Himawari, open up the door or else. If you're so afraid, wait until the zombies after us come out," he said, then turned around and yelped. "Dad, they ARE coming!"

Oh, they were going to die. Naruto couldn't stop his screaming now. This was worse than the imaginary ghosts for him. They were going to die...they were going to die unless Himawari -

And then God was on their side when she forced her fears aside and unlatched the door, letting her dad and brother out safely, and slammed the door in the faces of the zombies when they were just about to reach for them. Naruto securely locked it in place. Behind him, Himawari was shivering in frozen horror, because _tarantulas_ crawled over her. He had help from Boruto to get the furry, eight-legged demons off of her and even kick them away. Deed done, Naruto pulled the girl close to him and hugged her tightly. "My brave little lady," he said with a grunt.

"You got the key?" she asked, bug-eyes slowly softening back to normal.

He hastily searched his pockets and everywhere - and relief couldn't have been more pleasant when he pulled it out and held it before their eyes. It wasn't long before they returned to the carriage with Zabuza and Haku...and back to Tsunade-sama. "Alright," Naruto said, holding it in front of her now, "we went through hell and back to get this thing. All I wanna know is this: where is the door out of here?"

Tsunade cracked a smirk as if he didn't think it'd be THAT easy. _"First, you must find the trunk."_

"T-trunk?" Naruto repeated in dismay. "Not _door?_ "

 _"No, not door. Trunk."_

 _I'll be damned; all that hell we went through to get this damned thing, and what about another crossroad?!_ "All you said we had to do was find this key, which we now have here," he said angrily, "and now you talk about a trunk. The key is the answer to all, remember?" The green lady rolled her eyes at his outbursts.

 _"Look, brat, I don't make the rules. I just work here."_ _Okay that's the last straw. I've had enough with this nonsense._ He was going to get this over with if this stupid trunk came first now, but he wasn't going to do this without her coming along from this table of hers. He picked her ball up without trouble. She protested wildly. _"HEY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? PUT ME DOWN! THIS IS BAD LUCK - VERY BAD LUCK!"_

"I'll show you bad luck, Granny," Naruto snapped. "I'm done playing around."

 _"I'm getting nauseous!"_ He rolled his eyes and snorted. _You'll get over it._

The attic had many trunks to find, so the attic was where they now found themselves. But with so many of them and all this junk, it was going to take forever to see which one...but then they came to a halt at the sight of a brown one with bronze accents. Somehow, it seemed to stand out, and Tsunade affirmed it was the one. "Hold her," he said, giving her to Zabuza who in turn gave it to Haku, resulting in him putting the ball down. Neither of them were willing to hold the creepy thing.

As predicted, when Naruto successfully stuck the key into the lock and opened it, it was filled with so many letters and books that hadn't been touched in years, covered with dust and webs. "How do I know what to look for?"

 _"Find the thing that must be read, lest your heart be filled with dread."_

 _Something red, has to be read...it might be two different things, but it's better than nothing -_ "Wait," he said after some perusing and opening a book to find a _red envelope._ "There's a letter here." The front of the letter was written with the kanji **トネリ** \- _Toneri...it's addressed to him._ The seal itself had the letter "H" in elegant corsiva. Undoing it with care, he took out the ancient but otherwise fresh-looking paper and noted it was also in kanji, but what it said in translation was this:

 _My saiai,_

 _I have given much thought to our conversation in the garden where we then talked at great length about our "secret". My dear sweet Toneri, you see only the good in the world around you. You give me strength to give you the answer you asked for. Yes, my dear heart, I will marry you. I will love you for all eternity - and tonight, at last, we will be together._ _I do!_

 _Forever yours,_

 _Harumi_

When he was done reading, he was stunned as the others behind him. Boruto and Himawari couldn't think of a word to say, but Tsunade was silent about this, having known all along and cryptically helped them all this time. Zabuza and Haku echoed his thoughts. _Harumi...she never killed herself. She wanted to spend the rest of her life with him._

Which meant someone else murdered her, forged the suicide note and gave it to Toneri.

"Well done, Mr. Uzumaki. I must say I am impressed." They had been discovered, and the man himself stood there: Ramsley, as always without ever a shred of emotion, and his tone booked no trace of the mentioned impression. "You are more persistent than I would have ever imagined."

Naruto couldn't believe the answer yet again appeared right in front of him, and he never imagined it would have been -

"The _butler_ did it? You gotta be kidding me!"

 **Oi the moment has arrived. :O Explosion incoming...**


	7. Let the Truth Be Known

**Nearly done with this and happy with the pace. :)**

 **I recently remembered something from the past that I thought was pretty ironic. On the last day of third grade before summer, for our writing period, we were given a free twenty minutes or so to write anything we wanted - and I'd decided to bring to life "The Haunted Mansion" in a short time in the important facts without being too scary or inappropriate. What a memory!**

Chapter Seven

Let the Truth Be Known

 _Ramsley murdered Harumi and forged the suicide note, left his own master and charge, Toneri, to die by his own hand in an attempt to be with her. But look at them now: trapped on Earth._

Naruto had never been so livid. He couldn't think right other than glare with murderous intent and the need to murder bitches when the traitorous old man eyed Zabuza and Haku as if _they_ were the traitors. "I will deal with you two later." They were gone in wisps of blue smoke. Tsunade remained silent in her crystal ball; the reason was because she faded into nothing for the time being, so the ball was clear and empty.

"Why did you kill her?" Naruto demanded heatedly, tucking the letter and envelope into his back pocket. He was going to give this to Toneri if that was the last thing.

"Because the master would not listen to reason," Ramsley answered, monotoned. "He had everything in the world. I served his family first in England and then traveled all the way here to ensure his father's life would be better, and when he himself was born, I wished the same thing for him...and yet in the end, when he met _her_ -" He spat. "- the foreign minx, he was willing to forsake his stand in society and throw it all away for love. I did tell him it would end badly."

The image rose in Naruto's mind on what may have happened if Ramsley had to have gotten close enough to Harumi the night she died: he must have poured them both wine, but placed a slip of poison into one and handed it to her, with the proclamation of a false toast to the future Lady Oosutsuki and the future...only for her to fall dead after maybe a single sip. The concoction must have been powerful enough to act fast. _Just before or maybe after he left the note for his master to find._ "You're a real cold dude," he sneered.

"No, Mr. Uzumaki. I am a rational man. It was my responsibility to this house - my duty to see to it that the boy did not make a foolish error in judgment. Running away with that girl would have destroyed this house. I could not idly stand by and watch it all fall to ruin."

"Punch his face in, Dad," Boruto said through his teeth. Himawari said nothing but icily and hatefully watched the butler who remained unaffected by a mere little girl.

Naruto wanted so much to do just that, but first - "First, I am gonna tell his master what really happened -"

Ramsley was right before him in a flash. "The master must _never_ know," he stated in a tone that said he would do whatever he could to make sure. "Toneri and his love will be reunited before the clock strikes midnight...and this curse will be broken." Now a slight smile showed, but it was too late for any form of admiration. The lies were going to end - and Hinata had unwittingly been pulled into this. _She's not Harumi. Tsunade said that not everything was as it appeared, and she was right. The letter in my pocket proves it._

"But it's not her; that's my _wife_!"

"And what she sees in you, I'll never know," the man sneered. "But that is of little importance now. All that matters is that the master's pain must end, and it will end _tonight._ " He walked to stand beside the ancient but beautiful wedding dress. "The curse will be broken, and we can finally move on."

Naruto growled, fed up with this. "Where is she?"

"Getting ready for her wedding, of course," Ramsley stated matter-of-factly.

 _WEDDING?!_ "He can't marry her!" Naruto said. "He's dead, she's not."

"True...but that can easily be corrected. Life, I'm afraid, is such a delicate state." _You son of a bitch, you intend to do to Hinata what you did to Harumi. You're so gonna pay now._

His fist clenched as he delivered a blow for the head. "Man, if you put one finger on my wife, I swear I'll kill you!" But he found himself on the other side of the man, passing right through him, and hitting some storage items. _Damn it, why did I forget he's dead, too?!_

Ramsley looked down at him mockingly. "How wonderful...you're going to kill a ghost." He then turned around when Boruto and Himawari shouted at him to leave their father alone. Holding out a hand and then pulling a finger in, at his command, another trunk appeared behind them and opened to let them fall in, closing and locking afterwards. They were trapped inside. Naruto acted on fatherly impulse and lunged forward.

"LET THEM GO!" The damned thing wouldn't unlock because it was the ghost butler's order. "You let my kids out of here," he growled savagely, "you're gonna take me to my wife, and you're gonna let us out of here right now!"

Oh, how bad those words of choice were. "You want out? Very well." Suddenly, a very powerful grip latched itself onto his throat. Naruto gagged and tried to pull himself out of it, but Ramsley shifted from solid form to ghostly blue, and you could see through him now. He brought Naruto into the air. "Now, for the last time: good night, Mr. Uzumaki."

Glass shattered as he was thrown backwards; he'd been tossed out through the roof and was sailing downwards to crash. He screamed like there was no tomorrow - and he found himself slammed facedown on the glass of what looked like the greenhouse. His numb, pain-ridden body slid down and landed on the hood of the rental, which honked and raised the alarm at random. Naruto groaned as he lay there for a moment before collapsing onto the earth. The constant honking and beeping were going to give him a headache.

 _Damn, that all hurt like a bitch._

He jerked his head up at the sounds of shutters closing on all windows, security increasing to make sure he would never get in. What was he going to do now that he was out here and his family in danger in this cursed place - with that bastard who caused all of this? If he ever got to Ramsley, he would make him pay when he got the letter to Toneri and saved his wife.

~o~

Toneri opened the doors to the latest room of the mansion. This tour was everything but beyond what she'd imagined. _The ballroom...it's almost like Beauty and the Beast. If it were light, it would have been so beautiful._ Hinata was stunned by the vast space, imagining all the parties, light and laughter that happened here.

"This house has waited so long to have its shroud of darkness lifted. And tonight..." He walked to stand before the dimly lit middle of the floor, looking about as if searching for something. "...after oh, so many years, I believe it may be possible that the story will finally end differently." He turned back to her, hands on his hips. "Hinata...do you believe that love is about second chances? Forgiveness?"

"Yes, I do," she answered, thinking about her husband.

But then, it was as if something changed when Toneri came her way by a step. "Do you...remember?"

 _R-remember what?_ "Toneri, are you all right?" she asked, wondering what happened just now. Why was he acting like this? He was now pacing back and forth before her, talking half to her and to himself.

"I thought that bringing you back to Oosutsuki Manor would make you remember."

"Remember what? You're scaring me!" Hinata burst out. _Is he going insane or something? Why did I even agree to be alone with him, to let him show me around only to end up here -?!_

He whirled back to her and took both of her hands into his in an act of desperation and _passion._ The last word scared her worse as the dancing blue figures in Revolutionary and French garments began to appear around them. What was happening? _They are from the past._ Toneri's hold tightened as quickly as he husked out desperately. "Where IT happened: where we spent our last moments together, where we danced together for the last time before you -" He stopped there, squeezing his eyes shut as if having an internal struggle before he burst.

"- before you killed yourself! But now you've returned to me." He pulled her close to him before placing his mouth on hers. His lips were so soft, but barely there; she was almost lost in the contact - but her brain snapped when she remembered who this was and what he was saying. "And at long last we can be together," Toneri panted out. "You were my world, my life - and I have loved you in death as I did in life!"

Hinata mustered her willpower to pull herself out of his touch. "Let me go!" She ran for the doors they'd come in, hoping to outrun him and get back to the room, hoping Naruto was there so they could get themselves and the kids away from this place. She made a mad dash up the staircase now.

 _It's him...he's dead. He's the one who loved her - and now he thinks I am her. Something terrible is going to happen. But I am not Harumi!_

"You are her!" Toneri's voice cried out to her. "You are Harumi! Can you not sense that you must be?! Search your heart; I am your one true love!"

"I'M NOT HARUMI!" Hinata screamed over her shoulder by the time she reached the hallway and door she was looking for. "GET AWAY FROM ME!" She made it inside safely and locked the door as quickly as she slammed it. He was out there now, but he couldn't get in. She half-expected him to - and not - since he was clearly a ghost and could walk through walls. But she didn't want to think about that.

Naruto wasn't here, at all. Did something happen to him? How were the kids?

She didn't want to go back through the bedroom door, but the windows turned out to be locked. She was against breaking glass, but she did try using the stool at the vanity, and it only repaired itself just like that. Hinata had never felt so afraid in her life, for herself and her family...

"Madam."

Spinning around, she saw Ramsley standing there. Maybe he could help her if he knew what was really going on. "Oh, Ramsley," she pleaded, "you've got to help me. There is something horribly wrong. Oosutsuki-san..." He cut her off gently, but somehow, she felt no real reassurance with his words.

"Yes, my dear, I know. He's expecting you." His shadowed eyes seemed to darken. "He's _always_ been expecting you." He turned his attention to the foot of the bed, and she followed it, gasping in shock when she saw the wedding dress and box of jewels from the attic. "And you haven't put on your dress yet. We can't keep the master waiting."

"Waiting for what?" Hinata demanded furiously, losing her cool, clenching her fists at the sides, her nails digging into her skin. _I'm trapped here. Why can't anyone see I am not HER?! I can't be! I am Hinata Hyuuga, Uzumaki when I married the man I love, and I have two children and a great life at home!_ "I am not marrying that crazy bastard. _I am not Harumi!_ " She screamed at the top of her lungs, descending into a choking sob she swallowed back.

But Ramsley looked at her without even a shred of sympathy. "Of course you are, my dear. You may not see it yet, but in time, you will."

"You don't think I'm actually going through with this madness, do you?!"

"Oh, yes, I very much do. You see..." He stepped backwards without turning, gesturing towards the oval mirror above the vanity. "...we wouldn't want anything to happen to the children."

Hinata gasped in horror when green smoke covered the edges of the glass, and she was given the horrified faces of none other than - "Boruto! Himawari!" Her children, her precious lives, were imprisoned someplace as blackmail leverage! Her temper and fury doubled when she rounded back to the man responsible. "You wouldn't -!" The butler simply gazed on off to the side.

"I wouldn't, but that is entirely up to you. If not, I really do fear for the children." She turned her back to him and doubled over, collapsing onto her knees, placing her head on the dresser to weep. She was so helpless she hated it. Her children were locked up, but what about her husband? Had Ramsley done something to him as well? Everything was coming together: the call to ask her to come alone, but here she brought her whole family into this. She knew something had been horribly wrong, but it was too late. Naruto had been tricked as much as she'd been.

Some moments passed before the door reopened, but the bastard wasn't back. "Mrs. Uzumaki, you have to go through with this." This voice was rougher than either Toneri or Ramsley. She jerked her head up and glared at the two servants, including the maid she'd seen and followed earlier. Both of them looked grim in the face as if unable to help her if they wanted to. "If only we could help you, but we can't," the taller man with bandages around his face said. "If you want to save your family, this is it." With that, he turned to open the door again and left her with the maid.

"He said that if we disobeyed him again, we'd be dealt with in the worst possible manner," she said - no, wait, Hinata heard the deep undertone. It must really be male, dressed only as a woman because he somewhat looked like it. "There are worst things than purgatory."

 _Which means they are in deep as much as I am._

She changed into the dress with forced haste, feeling like a ghost. All she could think about was her family and her life she was going to lose now. When she was in, the "maid" named Haku helped her close the back and then her hair.

Now she was walking her way towards the man who still saw her as the woman he loved and lost. When she'd felt sorry for him, now she was forced to be someone she wasn't. He looked her over with a loving eye at the dress he finally got to see "her" in - _I'm not Harumi_ , she kept telling herself over and over - as he stood at the bottom of the stairs with many candelabra lit, but nothing had been cleaned in centuries, so it was still a sad Gothic setting. Her hair was now held up in an elegant, small and sleek bun accented with a small comb sparkling with crystals, attached to a seven-foot-long veil hand painted with an exquisite floral motif. The earrings weighed heavily as her heart, and the bejeweled ribbon was twice wrapped around her throat. The flowers in her hands were lush and romantic with red, white and pink roses.

However, it seemed Toneri was troubled by the tears she was shedding. But Ramsley, in the priest's robes and carrying the book, leaned in and whispered something to him that wiped that concern off his face. _He thinks they are tears of joy._

"Harumi." He offered his hand to her. Being called that name made her choke on her response at the hard and warning look from the butler.

"Y-yes, my love." The organ had stopped playing so Zabuza, the bandaged man, and Haku could watch with pure sympathy.

~o~

He couldn't even break through the glass of the greenhouse - or was it the library he'd been in earlier? - because when he picked up the nearest statue he could find, the glass didn't shatter entirely and only repaired itself. After several tries, he gave up altogether and collapsed beside the car which stopped blaring.

 _Oh, God...this is the greatest failure of my life._ He reached into his pocket to pull out the watch his wife took off in anger when they fought, staring with a heavy heart at the rosy face etched with crystals, placed on pure white. The man who sold it to him suggested to "treat her with a little decadence without regret." Well, here he was now with the greatest regret ever.

Naruto closed his hand around the gift to Hinata and put it back where it was. From the corner of his eye, a familiar ball of green rolled his way. "Leave me alone," he mumbled, turning halfway from her.

Tsunade rolled her eyes. _"Oh, I see. You're just gonna sit here feeling sorry for yourself."_

"Tell me why not. This whole thing was my fault. We should _never_ have been here in the first place." He leaned his head back and looked up at the now-clear starry sky. "We were supposed to be back home, traveling to Suna where a good friend of ours lives. We should be sitting at a warm fire on a cold night, in the waters under the sun, and enjoying local good drinks and so on." _And I made us come here._ "But it's too late."

 _"No, it's never too late."_

He looked at her with discouragement, the feeling in his bones. "Look, Green Granny, I tried to get in, and I failed, okay?" _Easy to say, like Hanaru used to tell me. My big sister should be here because she knows this better than I do._

Tsunade seemed to be getting a kick and...trying to help him still. Listen to the gypsy in the ball like he did before, right? She hadn't been wrong about one thing thus far. _"You try, you fail,"_ she agreed. _"But the only true failure is when you stop trying."_

"And what do you want me to do, huh?" That pretty face smirked.

 _"Try again, of course."_

~o~

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered tonight in the sight of God to join this man and this woman in the bonds of holy matrimony. Wilt thou, Toneri Oosutsuki, have this woman be thy wedded wife, to live together after God's ordinance in the holiest state of matrimony?"

Toneri bowed his head, half-closing his eyes as he breathed out, "I will."

It was hard for Hinata to not sob, her lips quivering as the same thing was asked of her. She wanted so much to scream, throw down the roses in her hands - the sweet romance so sickening that this was all a big lie - but what good would it really do? And the name she was still called, Harumi Ukatane, made another tear escape and burn her cheek.

"I do."

This satisfied Ramsley as he then reached into his robes and pulled out a small vial just as Haku did the honors of presenting a goblet of red wine - and the vial cap was popped open to let a small white powder come in a little amount to vanish into the liquid. Hinata held back her horror.

 _It's the very same poison Harumi used to kill herself...isn't it?_

"From this day forward, you shall be joined together as one for all eternity until the very end of time."

~o~

The car through the glass did just the trick. Haul back, sail through with a scream of excitement and worry - and the impact was worth it.

Tsunade was also saved by the air bag in case of crashing, which was just what they did. It also meant a cost of money to repair the damages done, but he would worry about that another time. He was in now, thanks to the gypsy. Now, to find the kids first, save them from death by suffocation - if they were still in the trunk - and then they would find Hinata. The letter would be read if Toneri was there; he just HAD to listen and believe that the woman wasn't his Harumi.

He ran and ran, not stopping until he found the trunk, hanging upside down and on the side, chained damned good. "Boruto! Himawari!" he roared, dashing forward - but he should have expected the suits of armor to come to life and attack him.

 _Oh, hell to the no._ He threw himself forward and jumped as axes were swiped over his head and beneath, but the strikes ended up cutting each armor dude down. The deadly axe blades would wrack into the floor when he ended up on his back, but harrowly missing. That axe he took out of the one warrior's hold and kicked him into pieces of armor, then used the weapon in hand to parry another with a sword, but that thin thing was no match for the hard axe.

He was in front of the thing that entrapped his son and daughter, and hacked at the lock and chains, which fell apart as the lid of the trunk opened to let both Boruto and Himawari jump out alive and well. Words could not describe how happy he was that they were safe...but there was one person left.

The wedding was going on behind these doors. He'd heard the brunt of it just before he kicked them open, as well as WHO was saying them: "- if anyone has any objections -" _You're really gonna get yours now, Ramsley._

"Yeah, I got a few objections!" Naruto shouted as soon as he was inside, the kids behind him, and Hinata - God, she looked so beautiful in that dress if not for what was happening - was in tears when she saw them. She wasted no time dropping the goblet of red wine and running his way, disregarding the furious Toneri, the butler and the two servants who were happy he came in time.


	8. Forever All Time

**Grand finale is here without further ado. :D Reviews appreciated. And a Happy Halloween (in eleven days!)**

Chapter Eight

Forever All Time

Naruto and the kids came. They were all safe, and they were all going to fight their way out of this now. She didn't want to let him go for the longest time. _I thought you were killed already._ But it didn't matter to say those words now. "Naruto," she breathed against his neck.

"I'm so sorry for all of this, Hinata," he answered back. "Next time I say we are going to Suna, we ARE going to Suna."

Hinata laughed, trying not to cry. "Let's go." She looked over his shoulder to smile at both the kids, and they returned it - but the family reunion was interrupted with an even bigger problem behind. And it wasn't willing to let her go so easily.

"You fool," Toneri growled as he descended down the steps, "get away from her. I lost her once, and I have no intentions to let it happen again."

Hinata wanted to once again plead her case, but her husband had it all under control. She took to embracing both her son and daughter while Naruto fired back. "This is not Harumi. Ramsley, you tell him the truth." She stood straight and behind Boruto and Himawari, stunned. _Naruto, you have the proof, don't you? You've kept busy all this time._

Not surprisingly, the butler denied it without many words. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, now you got amnesia, huh?" Naruto said with a scoff. "Harumi didn't kill herself. _He_ did. He's been lying to you all along!" Her heart froze. _Oh, Ramsley...I should have suspected you had the bigger hand all along. You murdered her yourself, you covered it up - and now you wanted your own master to think I was her so that you can finally get away from this place you're trapped in._

"I'm warning you, sir -" Toneri reached behind him to withdraw a long, elegant sword and point it right at him. "- step away. I don't want to really kill you, but only if I must."

Naruto looked at it like it was nothing. "Don't think just because you pull out your sword, I'll let you marry my wife."

"My patience is wearing thin. Harumi, please come." He looked at her imploringly with his eyes while keeping his entire face in fierce lines.

Hinata shook her head. "I'm _not_ Harumi," she insisted. "I'm _Hinata_ Hyuuga, now Uzumaki, and I am from Konoha, Japan." His steps might have faltered by one at her pleas, but he stayed where he was, still wanting to believe she was...

"Yeah, she told you that," Naruto agreed. "Ramsley wants you to think she's Harumi so this curse would be lifted." But Toneri seemed to agree with the man he thought he trusted, the one who raised him and looked after him, and thought all of this absurd. He was on the verge of raising his sword when Naruto once again stopped him. It secretly amused Hinata that he had a hell of an effect the way he did. "Hey, you want to kill me? Kill me. But on the other side when we go there, I'm gonna be whipping your ass for all eternity." He reached behind him to pull out a faded piece of paper with writing on it. "So, maybe you should read this before you stab somebody."

Toneri looked at it with a questioning furrow of the brows. "What is it?" he asked suspiciously.

"Harumi's letter - her _real_ letter. The one she wrote, the one your so-called loyal butler stole. You never saw it," Naruto answered angrily, handing it to the man, who took it, lowering his sword to the side so he could read it. Hinata watched as his face contorted first to brief bliss and then utter mortification and confusion.

"R-Ramsley," he gasped finally, turning to the man in question, "what is the meaning of this?"

"Must we continue to listen to the ramblings of a lunatic?" Ramsley stated, making Hinata fume. Even Toneri could see it through as he recognized Harumi's handwriting. Now this had the old man cornered through and through.

"Your union was unacceptable," he said at last. "I tried to warn you, but you wouldn't listen."

Toneri's back was now facing Hinata, but she heard the poison dripping from his voice. "So you killed her."

"I told you it would be a mistake to run away with that girl." _You coward, you thought the house was more important than love. It doesn't destroy anything, but if you work together, it makes everything flourish and nourish._

"But I _LOVED_ her!" Toneri shouted, heartbroken as he'd been the night he found her dead body as he'd told Hinata. "Was love my mistake?!"

"YES!" The outburst echoed the walls. "I tried to protect you. All these years, I've sacrificed for you. But what would you know of sacrifice, duty or honor? You loved her," Ramsley sneered before his expression became utterly ugly. "Well, damn you... _damn you all to HELL!_ "

The candles were all blown out. His eyes turned nearly white, giving him the appearance of a demon from the very place he cursed them to. The windows opened then and there, with wind gushing in, and shapeless smoky forms screeched their way in. The spirits from hell had come to claim them all. Hinata half-crouched down and pulled Boruto and Himawari close to her, but she could only protect them so much. Haku shrieked and tried to run away with Zabuza.

However, the spirits only went past all of them.

The fireplace roared to life, telling them all something much bigger was coming from below. The floor cracked and dropped into the molten core. Himawari whimpered and turned into her mother and brother for protection. The flames expanded and turned into some kind of dragon, which bellowed and searched them all - _this is it_ \- but it avoided them, going straight for the one man who was a true sinner. Ramsley screamed as the flames wrapped around him and pulled him in the direction of the great fireplace that she remembered saying was a work of art when they first arrived.

Ramsley's plan had backfired, and now he was paying for everything. But as he was pulled towards his fate, he had come close to grabbing the one he thought the worst trouble and ruined everything for him tonight. "NARUTO!" Hinata screamed, trying to run his way, but she was held back against her will, and not by hands. She flinched and swallowed. A terrible pain in her stomach started in the center and began to spread throughout that one organ and then traveled to the other parts.

The last thing she remembered was Toneri going to her husband's aid before her vision fogged over, her body becoming lighter. Her children's protests couldn't call her back.

~o~

Ramsley was literally being dragged to hell, but he wanted one more time to bring someone down with him - and it had to be HIM! _Ouch, it's all hot!_ Naruto managed to grab the ledge in hopes that the bastard would lose his hold and then be taken down to eternal suffering.

God, he was slipping now. He was going down to burn forever...but when he did lose his grip, someone snatched his wrist and hauled him up to safety. "Toneri!"

"A thank you is not really necessary," the other man told him with a forced smile. Naruto found himself briefly pulled into the other's body They turned to look back down and watch as his former, treacherous butler and guardian was pulled down through a jagged tunnel leaking with lava and fading as the floor began to close back up to its former state. Ramsley's screams echoed for a few seconds before vanishing altogether.

 _Well, now he's gotten what he deserved._ But before he could ask Toneri what now, they were brought back to attention at Boruto and Himawari's cries. "MOM!" Naruto felt as if his heart had stopped altogether.

Hinata lay at their children's feet, her expression light and her eyes rolling upwards into her head. One hand was laying over her stomach as if clutching it in pain. "Hinata!" He dove to her side and pulled her to his chest. "Hinata, what's wrong?" He looked up at Zabuza and Haku who now stood there. "What's happening to her?"

"It's the poison," Zabuza answered gravely. Haku nodded once, without a word, and clasped his hands in front of him.

 _The poison...no, no NO! Hinata, you can't do this to me!_ "Hina-koi, don't you dare leave us like this!" he yelled. At the sound of his voice, her eyelids fluttered and looked up at him tiredly, but did she really see him? And her voice was barely audible to everyone but him.

"...Naruto..."

With that, Hinata Hyuuga-Uzumaki fell limp in his arms. Dead. Himawari turned to cry in her brother's arms, and Boruto let a couple tears slip himself. "HINATA!" Naruto roared, shaking her but not too hard. "Hinata, don't do this! I love you! Come back to me!"

He wasn't going to let her die like this. He loved her for all these reasons: she was the first to accept him for who and what he was, she was his sister's best friend, she supported him when he joined her family business, and he showed himself capable for her and their family they made. They had everything together - but now she was gone. She'd been poisoned the same way Harumi had been...and his heart would never recover.

But then a faint glow of blue light appeared before their very eyes. "Hey!" Naruto exclaimed at the sight of the blue spirit ball, since he knew what it was. "Get away from us!"

"No, Dad, it won't hurt us," Boruto insisted. To prove it, the formless ghost made its way towards Hinata's corpse still in his arms, coming to rest over her stomach where her hand lay, slowly vanishing before the body began to be covered with pale blue light...

...and then it was lifted from his hold to rise into the air. It was also then that the entire group saw the great pillar of light covering all of them, leading up to a collection of silvery blue clouds. _The light...it must be heaven. But is it taking Hinata with it...?_

Her body was standing upright now, and that was not all. Hinata was alive; she was speaking, but it wasn't her. _"Toneri,"_ she breathed out, in a much huskier tone from another time, _"it is I, my love."_

Naruto blinked in shock. That spirit...within his wife's body...it was _Harumi._ _"The truth had to be known for me to be released."_ Her gaze flickered and kindly set on Naruto. He couldn't help but feel embarrassed by this, talking to her through his wife. _"He saved me."_ He tried to insist it was really nothing, but Toneri seemed to think he was being too modest. Both men looked back up to see her slowly floating down towards them.

"Harumi." To say her name after so many centuries must be more than a sigh of relief. "I've waited so long for this moment." Now she was right before him with a smile that continued to increase.

 _"And now, only heaven awaits."_ The couple then took their first ever passionate kiss, long and well-deserved. Naruto felt his cheeks burn hotter at this. He looked at the kids who were very disgusted at what they were watching. He tried to think that it wasn't really their mom - and his wife - Toneri was kissing, but Boruto and Himawari's silence and hard eyes were enough for him to decide that he wanted Hinata back.

 _But what if it's too late? What if she's already gone up into the light...?_

He reached to tap on Toneri's shoulder, ending the lip lock. He and "Harumi" looked at him with confusion at being interrupted. "Um...my wife," Naruto answered. They seemed to understand, sharing a look of uncertainty, but since Toneri just got her back, what was the worst that could happen if she did leave Hinata's body -?

The light left her then, turning gold, and then Hinata collapsed limply into his arms. "Hinata!"

Her eyes snapped open then, meeting his gaze with recognition. "N-Naruto," she said softly. He pulled her close to him, her arms wrapping around him.

"I thought I'd lost you."

"I thought I lost you, too," she answered, kissing him on the cheek.

Toneri walked up to them, bowing his head. "Can you ever forgive me?"

Naruto looked at him, confused. He didn't really hate the man, not even before, because he'd been manipulated by someone who had been so near and dear to him, and he was willing to do anything in the name of love. If Naruto had been in his shoes, he would do the same thing. "What's to forgive? You loved her." That seemed to be all the man needed. Then he surprised them all by pulling up a rolled parchment wrapped in red ribbon.

"The deed to the house; it is all yours," Toneri answered proudly. "Do whatever you will. Do whatever makes you and your family happy. Sell it, keep it - it doesn't matter." His smile had become so broad it reached both ears. He was walking back to the light where SHE waited for him in her vivid golden kimono like the portrait. Toneri took her hand and joined her in close bodily contact. "And thank you all so much."

The Uzumaki family watched as the reunited couple ascended upwards to be together for eternity in a swirl of blue and gold.

And to follow were none other than Zabuza and Haku, after a humorous packing of what they needed as well as a near tearful goodbye before they turned into glowing blue light to join.

Outside, the rest of the spirits trapped on the earth were making their way to heaven after centuries of waiting and suffering. Meanwhile, Tsunade in her crystal ball began her sermon for those embarking on their final journey.

 _"Angels in heaven together at last. The tale is well ended for those who have passed. Love endures all - no reason, no rhyme. It lasts forever and forever all time."_

~o~

The Oosutsuki Manor was sold off as promised and established new grounds for Byakugan Real Estate in America. But before the deed was done, Tsunade in her crystal ball came to live with the Uzumaki family. Everything else on the Oosutsuki properties was left lifeless and to be taken care of by the renovators. The dead were being properly taken care of - and to think about the zombies in the crypt would make her husband cringe. "I'd rather never know about that again, and our son is better off not knowing, either," he'd said.

A year had passed since the events, and life had gone back to normal. And what made her happier was that Naruto wasn't the workaholic he was anymore. When he made a promise to be there for his family on special events from then on, he kept it. _The wild time really made him open his eyes up._

Speaking of eyes, it made their family and friends' eyes pop when they brought Tsunade-sama home to be with their family. It was cruel to just leave her behind like that. And today was such a day when she tagged along for the ride to Itachi and Hanaru's place, because Ren was coming home for Christmas. Sasuke, Sakura and Sarada might as well have beaten them already.

"Mom, Tsunade won't shut up," Boruto groaned when the gypsy finished recanting the ascent into heaven a year ago. The sight had been so beautiful, and sometimes a great story to revisit as a "fond memory". But sometimes, Hinata wasn't sure that this ought to be a good tale for him and his sister to share with their children one day. Especially not to anyone else for fear of going crazy.

"I'm getting hungry," Himawari announced. "Can we get some pizza or something when we get to Uncle Itachi and Aunt Hanaru?"

Hinata laughed. "We should be there in twenty minutes tops," she said, only to earn a roll of the eyes from her husband.

"Honey, I think we learned by now that nothing takes twenty minutes if we promised," Naruto told her, leaning over and kissing her cheek, making the kids groan and Tsunade chuckle. But the time limit was far from important. This was going to be a hell of a great vacation as soon as they arrived.


End file.
